The best of both worlds for Bella
by Twihardkarebear38
Summary: Takes place after New Moon. Bella has saved Edward from the Volturi, and things are back on track for them both. What happens when Charlie becomes a victim of Victoria? What happens when a certain Volturi king reveals a secret to Renee? How will Bella and the ones she loves handle this new world?
1. Chapter 1

THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS FOR BELLA

 **A.N. Disclaimer, anything you may recognize... I don't own it. It mostly belongs to the wonderful mind of Mrs.** Meyer

Chapter 1:

(Bella POV) It was an unusually hot day for the town of Forks, Washington. Edward had gone hunting with Emmett and Jasper while Alice and Rose went on a shopping trip in Alaska with Kate and Tanya. Carlisle had the night shift at the hospital so he and Esme spent the day just relaxing and reading. I was working on my final essay for English since it was due on Tuesday. After about an hour, Charlie came upstairs to tell me that he had a call from the station so he was going to see what was going on.

"Okay Dad. I am going to take a break from homework and go see Jake." I hope that Jake was not still mad about me telling him I would become a vampire after graduation.

"Sure thing Bells. Tell Jacob and Billy I said hi, and to continue keeping the kids at the rez out of the woods until we capture the bear." Of course, I knew there was not a bear, but Victoria on the hunt again. "I will Dad, and be careful." I said smiling at him. "Always am." he said as he closed the door behind him. I called Alice to let her know that I was going to La Push even though I knew she already knew that. Before I could finish dialing her number she called me.

"Hello Alice. I guess you saw that I was going to call to tell you I was going to the reservation." "Bella, please be careful. I don't want you to get hurt by those mutts, and you don't have to worry about Victoria right now. She won't be around for at least a few days. We will be back before she even comes close to Forks." Alice said in her beautiful bell tone. "Jake won't hurt me Alice, I assure you of that. I promise if I run into any trouble I will call you or Edward, okay?" "Alright Bella, I will see you soon. Bye." "Bye Alice." Well that was kind of different even for Alice. I wonder what she is buying on this shopping trip that warrants her to be so nice to me. She knows I hate surprises, so if she got me anything, maybe she is sucking up to me in advanced for it. Oh well. I grabbed my keys and headed out for the reservation.

I drove with the windows down, and enjoyed the warmth of sun. Naturally Billy heard me coming, and already had the door open waiting for me. "Hey Bella, Jake just ran to the store for me. He will be back in a few minutes. Why don't you come in and wait, or we can sit out here if you prefer?" Billy said with a cheerful tone. "I guess we can sit out here. It really is a nice day out for a change. Unusually hot for the first part of May.

"Oh, Charlie says hi, and to remind you to keep the kids here out of the woods." I said to him in 'this should go without saying' tone.

"Good ole' Charlie, always thinking of the safety of others." Billy said with a slight chuckle. Billy knew just as well as I did it wasn't a bear out there killing hikers, but a crazed redhead vampire hell bent on revenge for the death of her mate.

We passed the time by talking about how school was going, my pending graduation, and how many colleges I had applied to. Just as I was telling him about Dartmouth being Edward's doing Jake pulled up with the gallon of milk and sandwich meat Billy had asked for. "Hi Jake, how are you?" I asked shyly. "Hey Bells, I am doing okay. It's good to see you. So, you wanna hang out at the beach?" he said smiling my favorite Jacob smile. I guess he got over the shock of graduation. "Sure thing Jake. I did come out here to hang out with you after all."

We walked along First Beach just talking about the days we use to spend together when I was at my low point, and then he told me about when he chased Victoria to Canada, he met an interesting individual. A young woman about twenty years of age. "What's her name?" I asked in genuine curiosity.

"Jasmine. She is a very unique person. She is oddly half vampire half wolf. She said her mother was a shape shifter wolf and her father was a vampire. At first I didn't believe her, but then she told me the story her grandmother told her about the sparkling, marble like skin this man had, and how he wanted comfort after losing his mate. After Jasmine was born, her mother and her father died."

I let that sink in for a minute, then I stopped in my tracks. "Vampires can't have children. It is impossible." I could not believe what I was hearing. Jake was not one for making up wild stories, so I knew he was telling me what he believed to be the truth.

"Bells, she is the fastest wolf I have ever met. Not even Leah is as fast as Jasmine. She was a blur in both wolf and human form. I could not believe my eyes at how fast Jasmine really is." he said in awe.

He went on to tell me how she was living around Seattle, just North really, and how she heard of the murders and disappearances. She could not find the one responsible for it, but was hell bent on trying to stop it though. So it sounded like we had ally in Seattle if it came down to a battle, that was a good thing. Just as we were heading back to Jake's house my phone rang. "Hold on Jake, it's Charlie. Hi Dad, what's going on?"

"Bells, I have to go to Seattle to help with an investigation." Charlie said.

"Oh, okay. Well, be careful. You know with all the murders and what not out there I worry about you coming home safe." I was now concerned.

"I always am safe kiddo, but I do appreciate your concerns." I was obvious to Charlie as well that I was concerned.

"Okay. Love you Dad."

"I love you too. Bye" he said back ending the call. "Bye."

"So, where is Charlie off to now?" Jake asked with the usual concern. "He is headed off to the Seattle area to help with a case involving a shooter that lives near Forks." I said with some concern in my voice as well. It did ease both of our minds that Jasmine was up that way, but still it was cause for alarm in both of us.

"Well Jake, it is getting kind of late, shall we head back so I can get home to finish up my homework?" He grinned then nodded as we walked back up to his house. Billy was once again sitting outside, but this time he had Sue Clearwater with him. She had seen my truck sitting out in front and wanted to say hello to me before I headed back home.

Sue was a very sweet woman, and she was kind of nervous when Seth was around the Cullens. She knew they would not hurt him, but still it is the protective mother vibe that I could understand in her. She asked that I pass along a hello to Charlie, and to say that she would bring some of Harry's famous fish fry over the next day. Sue was a real trooper since Harry's death. She knew how much Charlie loved Harry's fish fry, and he was the only one she would make it for. I told her I would pass along the info and greeting, then I waved to all of them as I pulled away from Jake's house.

The drive home was one of deep thought as I had wondered what kind of case Charlie would run into near Seattle, knowing that there were several unsolved disappearances and murders. I got home in the usual amount of time, and started to make dinner and as the chicken baked in the oven, I started in on my homework once again. I was almost finished with the essay for English when the timer for the chicken went off. I closed my book, pulled the chicken out of the oven, and moved my homework to the coffee table in the living room just as Charlie came into the door. "Hey Dad, was there anything you could do to help out with that Seattle case?" I asked trying to make small talk. "I sure did. Do you remember that bank in Port Angeles that was robbed about three months ago?" I nodded, "Well it turns out that the cousin of the suspect lives just outside of Port Angeles between here and there, and he decided to do the right thing, and turn his cousin in. The suspect lives just on the outskirts of Seattle, so I went to assist in the warrant for his arrest." he said with a satisfied look on his face. "How about you? Did you have a good time hanging out with Jacob today?" "Yeah, I did. Sue Clearwater told me to tell you hello, and that she will be bringing some of Harry's famous fish fry to you tomorrow. It's nice that she makes it for you." I said as I took a bite of my dinner. "That's nice of her" he said around a mouthful of chicken. The rest of the time was sat in silence, and then after dinner I cleared the table, did the dishes, then headed up to my room to finish my homework before bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

(Bella POV): When I woke up the sky was not its usual gray, letting yet another sunny day in Forks happen. I was surprised to wake up with a note beside me. It was from Edward. It read: Bella, I just had to stop by to see you since I miss you so much. We will be back tomorrow evening since it is forecasted to be sunny again. I love you so much. Be safe. Love, Edward.

That was very sweet and thoughtful of him to do that. I got dressed and headed down the stairs to get some breakfast. Charlie had already left for the day, leaving a note behind detailing he had to finish up some paperwork at the office, and then he was going to go fishing with Billy. It was Sunday, and I only had one more assignment left to do so after I had that done I decided to do some chores. I got the laundry started, cleaned the bathroom, then did some reading for a while. I must have taken a small nap because one minute I am reading Wuthering Heights and the next Charlie is gently shaking me awake to let me know he was back from fishing. I looked at the clock which now read 5:30, and I let out a groan. "I am sorry Dad. I didn't realize I had fallen asleep. I don't have anything out for dinner. How about we order a pizza for tonight?" I said in a groggy fog. He chuckled a soft chuckle, then said, "Sounds great to me Bells. I was actually craving some pizza, so I will order and let you wake up a bit." I smiled at him, grateful that he was so easy to live with. We sat in the front room eating pizza and watching the game. Well, Charlie was watching the game, I was making corrections to problems I knew I had wrong on my calculus assignment. After I finished the problems, I noted the time, and gave Charlie a hug as I headed upstairs to take a shower and go to bed. Charlie hollered "Night Kiddo" as I started up the stairs. He was too engrossed in the game to fully turn his attention to me. I was kind of sad knowing that Edward wasn't going to be in my room again tonight but I was happy that I would get to see him tomorrow night. After my shower, I shot off a short email to my mom, and then climbed into bed. For once sleep and I found each other rather quickly. I guess I had been more exhausted then I had thought, and the next thing I knew my alarm was going off. I groaned as I rolled over to shut it off. I got dressed, bounded down the stairs, grabbed a bowl of cereal, then picked up my bag to head out the door. Charlie was just a few seconds behind me, so I waved to him as he got into the cruiser. I got to school a bit early, but I wanted to make sure I had all my calculus questions answered and corrected. As I was finishing up looking over things Jessica, Angela, Eric, and Mike were making their way over to me. "Hey Bella, did you get that calculus assignment done?" Jessica asked. "Just went over it again to make sure all the questions were answered." I answered back sheepishly. The morning went slowly, and by lunch time, I had a bad feeling something bad was either about to happen or had just happened. I met up with Angela after school to go to her house to help her address her graduation notices, and still could not shake this feeling something bad was going on.

(Charlie's POV)

It was a long day already, and I had to drive back to the Seattle area since the rookie forgot his notepad in my cruiser yesterday morning. Of course he didn't bother to let me know until this morning, but then I can't blame him too much. With him being in a big city, I guess it is easy to forget what location you may have set it down at. I was sure glad to get outta there since all the murders and disappearances had everyone on edge. I was looking forward to getting back to Forks and the chaos of wild animals being spotted. I was about ten miles outside of Seattle when I noticed a car on the side of the highway with the four-way emergency flashers on, and the hood up. I stopped to assist the person, only to discover that it was a pretty redheaded woman who looked rather flustered. "Hello ma 'me, what seems to be the problem here?" I asked as I approached cautiously. She flashed a beautiful smile at me then said in a pouty voice, "It started sputtering, then just quit. As if that wasn't bad enough, I dropped my cell phone in a puddle so now that doesn't work. I was just passing through Seattle on my way from Bellevue to Sequim to visit a sick friend. I don't know anyone between here and there, so I don't where to get the best help." She looks so scared to be stranded, so I told her I would look and see if what little mechanic skills I had would help the situation or not, or if I was going to have to call in a tow truck to help her. "Well, I can take a look and see what I can do, and if I can't help there, I will call in a tow truck for you if you would like?" "Oh, thank you, off-, I mean Chief Swan. I am Victoria by the way." What a polite young lady, and so full of gratitude. I walked over to the front of her car, and took a look around. Fortunately, it was something simple that even I knew how to fix it. "Oh, I see the problem. It looks like a belt came loose. Let me get into my trunk and I can fix that up for you just fine." I told her as I headed for the back of my cruiser. I must have been in an off state of mind because I didn't see her next to me, so I jumped a bit. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I was just curious about the type of tool you need to see if I might have one in my trunk." she said, but for some reason I felt the need to be on alert. I held up the long Philips screw driver to show her, and her face fell as to signal that she did not have one. I followed her back to her car, but that is when I saw a blur, then felt a pain as if something had hit my hand. Soon after that, I felt a burning in my hand. It was as if I just put my hand in a fire, and had it stuck on a piece of burning wood. The woman suddenly was standing next to me, but something had spooked her because she turned and ran off. I heard a voice I thought I recognized as Sam Uley from La Push. I was on the ground thrashing in pain when he picked me up, and put me in the cruiser. He got into the driver seat, found the siren system, and flipped them on. I was being rushed back to Forks, but to my surprise, I was at the Cullen's residence and not the hospital.

Sam rushed to the door of the Cullen's and as Carlisle answered in surprise at first, whatever Sam told him made him have a look of panic in an instant. I could not understand why I felt like there was an intense fire burning me, but I managed to scream out "put the fire out please!" I half understood what was being asked, but then the conversation that Sam and Carlisle were having lost me again somewhere about the change is too far, and in just a few moments I would somehow be sleeping sort of. Sam had a very sad look on his face, and although I could not see why, he said he dreaded telling Billy what happened, but he would take that job over telling Bella or Edward. This all confused me more than what was actually happening to me. Was I dying? Oh, no! Not that! What would Bella do? Renee? Sue? I can't die! I have to live! "Bells!" was all I could manage to scream out at this point. I felt Carlisle's cool hands on me, and then he spoke to me. "We are calling her now Charlie, but I don't know if she will get here before you fall asleep." His voice was filled with sorrow, but he did not use the words "before you die" so I guess I am just in so much pain that I would be sedated and asleep before she could get to me. Just as that thought crossed my mind the next thing I could tell was darkness and pain. The pain of burning, and the darkness was pushing down hard on me. Why could I still feel the pain if Carlisle was going to give me something to stop the pain. I do remember the burning wasn't so intense, but then I could still feel the pain of it, so I knew I wasn't dead. I couldn't hear anyone right now, but I could swear I could hear someone sound angry and swear vengeance would be done. I had the feeling of someone holding my hand which made the fire less painful, but just as that felt nice, the burning started to intensify in my legs and torso. I wish they could put that fire out already.

(Bella POV)

I was just reaching my driveway when my phone rang. It was Edward, and for the first time I was scared by his tone of voice. "Edward, what is it? Why do you sound so heartbroken? Who got hurt? "Bella, love, we need you to come to the house now! Charlie is here under the care of Carlisle. I can't tell you more until you get here." I am on my way!" was all I could say as I pushed my truck to its limits. I was greeted by a very panicked Edward and Alice, and a very pissed off Emmitt and Jasper. Rose, Esme, and Carlisle were very somber, and at that point I was shaking with fear that maybe Charlie somehow figured out what they were, and threatened them to stay away from me. I soon put that thought to rest when I saw Sam, Seth, Jared, Embry, Quil, and Jake. Jake had beaten me there by five minutes. They all asked that I sit down so the news would not cause me to collapse. I then thought the worst, my dad, Chief Swan to the good people of Forks, was murdered. "W-w-what is going on?" I softly asked. Carlisle and Sam stood in front of me and Carlisle spoke very gently, "Bella, Charlie was on his way back from Seattle when he stopped to help a motorist in need. It turned out to be a trap, because Victoria was the stranded motorist. She bit Charlie, and before she could finish him off, Sam ran up to him scaring her off. By the time he was brought here the change was already taking place. He lost consciousness just a minute after being brought into the house. I am so sorry Bella, but Charlie will be one of us, and I fear for your safety when he wakes." I stared blankly in disbelief at Sam and Carlisle for a moment, then the silence was broke by Alice. "Huh?! Well, this is new! It seems that Charlie won't hurt Bella when he wakes because he is still aware she is his daughter." I shook my head in shock. "Ch-Charlie will remember I am his daughter, and so he won't hurt me when he wakes up? Is that what I heard you say, Alice?" As I asked that Alice skipped to my side, turned to me with a smile, and simply said, "Yes." Sam and the other wolves conveyed their condolences and elations at the same time. They were sad that Charlie was going to be a vampire, but were happy that I would get to be with my dad after all. Alice felt bad that she didn't see this coming, but since it was actually meant to kill my father to make me more vulnerable, it could have been worse. I have to admit a small glimmer of relief washed over me as I could now tell my father that I was going to become a member of the Cullen family as a vampire after graduation, and he wouldn't have to worry about me anymore. I figured that Jasper's unique gift helped me with the relief since I could still feel the pain of my father being attacked by Victoria. All we could do now was wait. I had called the station to let them know that Charlie was not feeling well, and was taking some sick time. I know it was unheard of, Chief Swan taking sick days, but I said that he may have gotten food poisoning from one of the fish places there in Seattle, so that held them off for a while. As for me, and the rest of the Cullens, it was business as usual, until after school.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

(Bella POV)

It was the morning of the third day, and Alice assured me that by dinner time for the humans Charlie would be awake. I was undoubtedly distracted in school all day, and Angela was nice enough to ask how Charlie was feeling. I hated lying to Angela, but I knew I had no choice. "He's fine as anyone can be with major food poisoning. Apparently he got a really bad fish with a trace of mercury in it, so they think he will be sick for a while." I tried to sound convincing, and I guess it worked because Mike mentioned that a student at Washington State University had that kind not even a year ago. It was nice that it wasn't so rare that it wasn't believable. At lunch I had asked Alice to see if there was any change in the timing of Charlie waking up, and she simply shook her head and said that we were still looking at about dinner time. I couldn't help but think about what he must be going through, and what he might think when he finally wakes up. Would he be mad at me for keeping this life a secret, and wanting to be a part of it? It was very hard to focus, but with Edward holding me off and on throughout the day, it was manageable. I was relieved when the final bell rang for the day, and we were finally heading back to the Cullan's. As we drove back, Alice chimed in and said, "Just about two more hours and he will wake up." That was going to be the longest two hours I have felt in a long time. Esme greeted me with a smile and a hug, then told me she was making some spaghetti for me for dinner, and that I would be welcome to stay as long as needed after Charlie woke up. I smiled, nodded, and thanked her. Carlisle had Charlie up in his study watching over him, and even told him that he would wake up to a new kind of life in just a couple of hours. Much to my amazement, Billy and Jake had asked if it was okay that they stay on the property for support. It didn't take long for a large canvas tent to go up, making it suitable for Billy to stay in, and Esme was bringing food out to them in regular intervals. This made me smile to see my vampire family get along with my Quileute friends. It really wasn't about rivalry at all any more, but my safety, and how Charlie was going to turn out as a newborn vampire. Esme asked me if I wanted to join Billy and Jacob outside for dinner, and as I accepted, we all sat outside knowing that Alice could tell that it would be okay. We would all be done eating about ten minutes before Charlie wakes up, so we all sat outside talking amongst ourselves. Billy had shown a great appreciation for the hospitality the Cullen's have shown him and Jake, and they talked about what this meant for the treaty. Billy knew that the only chance Charlie had at civility as a vampire was to be added to the Cullan clan, and he didn't want his best friend banned from the rez, but also had the duty to his tribe to protect them. Carlisle being the compassionate person he was, understood, and said it would all work out nicely he was sure of that. Alice had informed us that it was almost time and felt that it would not be a good idea to try to have Jake in the room at first, but it might be okay after the initial shock wore off. We all went into Carlisle's study, and waited, in anticipation, for Charlie to open his eyes.

(Charlie POV)

I was strangely aware of everyone around me. I had heard the voice of Billy and Jake, Bella and Edward, and even some of the Cullen kids I wasn't as familiar with. I felt strange honestly. I know Alice had said it wouldn't be much longer before I woke up, and Carlisle was actually nervous to see how I would react when I woke up. What could possible happen to me that would make him nervous. What had happened? Did they have to amputate a limb? Did something else happen that I was now disfigured? If I was honest with myself, I feel way better than fine. I am healthier than a horse, or at least that's how I am feeling. Now, I hear Bella telling me she hopes I am not mad at her. Why would I be mad at her? I feel strangely aware that my heart is speeding up like something is going to change. No sooner had that thought had crossed my mind my heart stopped, but I feel more alive than before. My eyes fluttered then opened. Things seem a bit blurry, but as things are coming into focus I can see the dust motes in the air. Bella was standing by Edward, and then I saw Carlisle just on the other side of her. Sam, and Jacob were also in the room. "Why are you all looking at me like I have an arm growing out of my ear?" Whoa, was that my voice? What a strange sound I have made. "Dad, how do you feel?" Bella asked with worry in her voice. "Except this burning feeling that I am thirsty, I feel great the fire is gone, and I am suddenly wondering why I am alive without a heartbeat." Carlisle slowly approached me with his hands slightly raised, then spoke. "Charlie, you are now a vampire. The woman you helped on the highway was a vampire. She bit you, and Sam was hoping he could get you to me in time to stop the change, but it was too late. I am so sorry for this. Jasper and Emmett will go hunting with you to help you with your thirst." I was a bit taken back by all this, but I just simply nodded, and went with them.

What a feeling to run so fast in the forest and not hit a tree. I never knew if could feel so good running faster than a car on the highways. We ran for about ten minutes, and I somehow knew we were way out of Forks when Jasper stopped me. "Alright Charlie, what do you hear?" I took a minute to listen, surprised at the fact I could hear a squirrel climbing a tree about fifty yards away. Then I heard what sounded like deer about fifteen yards to the East. "I hear deer to the East about fifteen yards from here." Emmet was the next one to speak. "Okay, so we quietly sneak up on the deer, and let your thirst take over and grab one." he said with a grin. I did as they said, and much to my amazement, I had one in just thirty seconds, then another one, and one more. I felt full, but knew my thirst was still there. "So, I thought the story goes that vampires drink human blood." I said on the way back to the Cullen house. Jasper looked over at me with a slight smirk on his face, then said, "Oh, they do, but we along with another coven in Denali hunt animals. We consider ourselves vegetarians because we only feed on the blood of animals. Carlisle will explain more to you when we get back." I let that sink in for a minute, then it dawned on me what he said..."we"... Bella knew this the whole time! That is why she was hoping I would not be mad at her. "Bella knows all this doesn't she?" I asked with suspicion. "Yes, she does." Emmett replied. As we got back to the yard, I saw Billy and Jacob sitting there talking with Sam. I was hit by a smell that repulsed me, and as I wrinkled my nose as I approached them, Jacob let out a low chuckle. "Hi Charlie, I know, I stink right? Well, that is because I am a wolf. Humans would call our kind werewolves, but we are merely shape shifters." I blinked in confusion, but then I realized he was speaking the truth as Billy was nodding in encouragement to the truth. Carlisle asked how I was handling the news of what I was told. "I have to admit I am a bit overwhelmed, but I am doing okay with this." I said shaking my head. "Okay, well, as you were told, we are vampires, and our family along with another in Denali only hunt animals. I don't allow anyone from my family to hunt humans, and we have to keep our existence a secret. We do what we can to blend in, and live peacefully with humans. We stay out of the sunlight because the sparkling of our marble skin would give us away to the human world. Bella has known about this the entire time, and has accepted us with such grace." I sat in silence for just a minute, then walked up to Bella. I was in front of her faster than I thought possible for just a walk, but then I remembered that speed came so easy. I looked into her scared and nervous eyes, cupped her chin in my hand, and sighed. "Bells, I am not mad at you for keeping this a secret. I understand why, and I just want you to be careful. If being with Edward is what you truly want, then I can't stop you. To stop you now would be like keeping you out of my life from now on, and it would kill me to have to say good bye to you. I can't lose you Bells." She met my gaze, and just nodded once. "I love you, Dad." she whispered. "I love you too kiddo." was all I could say in return.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

(Bella POV)

I was so glad Charlie accepted my love and devotion to not only Edward, but to the Cullens as well. He called the station to let them know he was going to take his month of vacation time to recover from the food poisoning, and that he put his full trust in Deputy Mark to handle things while he recovered. We had found out the second day that Charlie seemed to have amazing restraint around humans, since Billy had asked to see Charlie and knew that Jake along with Jasper around it would be safe. Turned out that they weren't needed as much as we thought. Jasper was surprised by how well he was adjusting to vampire life, and was glad he was taking the time off to get used to it all as a precaution. I was bummed out that he was going to have to miss graduation, but Carlisle said he would tape it so Charlie could see it after. It was after all understandable as to why he was going to miss graduation, as the story goes, he is recovering from a severe case of food poisoning so it would be shocking to see the very sick Chief Swan at graduation next week. Charlie wanted to go home, but Carlisle insisted that he stay at their house since he was a new born, and we weren't 100% sure if he could resist the scent of human blood. Charlie reluctantly agreed, and I assured him that I would take care of everything before and after school. With Edward and Alice's help, chores weren't going to be a long process at all. I of course answered calls from the station at the house while I was there assuring everyone that Charlie was getting privet care from Dr. Cullen at his house so that if he spent time vomiting he would not monopolize the only bathroom in the house, and that I spent every possible moment there keeping him company. They wanted me to pass along their well wishes for a speedy recovery, and that they missed him. I told them I would pass along the messages, then took care of whatever I needed to before heading off to either school or to Edward's. I couldn't help but wonder if Charlie would continue his position as chief when Carlisle deemed him safe to be around the human population.

(Charlie POV)

Every day I seemed to be getting better and better at adjusting to my new life. I was accepting the fact that I would be joined by Bella in this crazy new life, but I could see as they spent time together here he was careful not to hurt her, and tried to keep her from danger as much as a possible. I had been informed that she had made the decision to become a vampire after her attack in Phoenix. My blood boiled when I learned the truth about what happened. I didn't blame Edward much to Bella's relief. I was very quick to show her I really did forgive her for hitting below the belt in order to save my life. When I heard she evaded Alice and her mate Jasper at the airport I was amazed. Then again, Bella was always a quick thinker, and then to learn that she was willing to die to protect Renee didn't surprise me at all either. What impressed me is how Bella didn't get changed that night. I quickly shook Edward's hand when I learned he sucked the venom out of her, but cringed to hear he almost didn't stop in time for her to live. It was then that I understood why Sam brought me to the Cullen's house the day I got attacked by that Victoria woman, who I also learned was the mate of the vampire James who attacked Bella. I found out that when you take a mate from a vampire, the surviving mate seeks out vengeance. That brought me back full circle to learn that this Victoria was a little twisted in that area. Instead of trying to kill Edward, she figured it was fair to kill his mate for him killing hers. I was supposed to have been a form of torture for Bella. She was more set on killing me and leaving my body in front of the house as a message for Bella. This crazy woman was in for a fight I am sure she will not win.

I was just sitting on the porch thinking about things when I was informed that Alice was having the party after all, and that I would be in the guest room with very limited visitors. I was sure this was going to be very hard, but as I was learning how to control my thirst so everyone gave me the confidence that I could do this. Deputy Mark went to the graduation to support Bella since I was "sick" and unable to attend. He was allowed a short visit just before the party, and he agreed that I looked like I had been through hell. How right he was, but then he would never be able to know the truth of that hell. I thanked him for his support and visit, but that I needed to rest so he went back to the station. Keeping this act up was actually easier than I thought, and knew that the party was not going to be as bad as I thought. I watched the video of the graduation with Bella, Edward, Jasper, and Carlisle by my side. The others were out getting the final touches for the party, so it was just us. "Bells, I am so proud of you! I wish I could have been there, but this is a nice way to see it as well." I saw a bit of pink in her cheeks as she blushed with a slight embarrassment as she spoke "Thanks Dad. I wish you could have been there, too, but I understand completely why you couldn't". Only a few moments passed when Alice came into the house informing us that there was work to be done, so we got to work decorating the house like a privet night club. I was still trying to get use to the fact that food smelled absolutely repulsive to me as Esme and Carlisle were in the kitchen preparing the refreshments for the graduating class.

(Bella POV)

I was sure I had my red blouse on the back of my chair in my room, and I was getting flustered that I could not find it. Edward tried his best to help me find it by looking in the washer and dryer to see if I had washed it. He came up empty handed there as I searched the hamper in the bathroom. "Bella, why don't you wear this blue one, and we will try to find the red one later. Alice will be upset with us if we aren't there before guests start to arrive." I sighed in defeat as I took the blouse from Edward's hands. "Alright, since we are running out of time I will wear it." Edward left my room so I could change, and we were off to the house for a night of pure torture due to the dancing. When we got there, I asked Charlie if he had seen the red blouse, but he hadn't. "Where did you have it last Bells?" "I could have sworn it was in my room on the back of the rocking chair, but it is nowhere to be found." He gave a small grunt as he said "It will show up when you least expect it I guess." I nodded then got into as much of a party mode as I could manage just in time for Jessica, Mike, Angela, and Eric to ring the doorbell. Let the torture begin.

(Carlisle POV)

I was impressed with how well Charlie was adjusting to being a new born, and was glad he understood that the situation in Seattle was due to an army of new borns. He appreciated the magnitude of what we were up against. We talked about how much Bella meant to our family, and that we would stop at nothing to make sure she was safe. We heard Bella approaching with some of her friends who wanted to wish Charlie a speedy recovery, and was happy to see he was a good actor. About ten minutes later Alice and Bella were at the door informing me of a vision Alice had. I told Charlie we would fill him in with the details after the party. He started to protest at that moment. "If Bella is in trouble I should hear this with the rest of yo..." "Charlie, remember, we need to keep up appearances that you are recovering from sever food poisoning. If you are seen walking around people might wonder what is going on." I reasoned with him. "Yeah, you're right. I am sorry. I just hate that my baby is in danger. That's all." he sighed. I understood where he was coming from, but was glad to see he calmed down on his own. "Jacob and two of his friends, Quil and Embry, are here as well." Bella informed me as we walked to the balcony. We stood outside listening to Alice tell of her vision. The new born army would be here in three days, they have Bella's red blouse for her scent, (now we know what happened to it), and there wasn't enough of us to protect the town. The wolves agreed to join forces with us to stop the new born army, and that they would join us for training Jasper has to help us defeat the army. This could get tricky for Charlie since he himself was a newborn. Jacob said he was going to call a friend of his in Seattle to help us out. We were all shocked to learn that a vampire had a child with a shape shifter, and that the girl was very aware of what she was. We knew she would be an asset to us if she would agree to fight. "I am looking forward to meeting Jasmine. I hope to learn from her as well as have her learn from us." I said with sincerity. We made plans for the training, and then the kids rejoined the party so they would not think we were ignoring them.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

(Charlie POV)

We all ran to this clearing and waited for Edward to bring Bella with him. Just minutes after they arrived the wolves showed up. I was not taken by surprise when Carlisle asked Edward to translate since I was informed that Edward could read minds. One by one the wolves came out of the forest. There was an interesting wolf beside Jake, and we all could only presume was Jasmine. She was a little different than the rest in appearances, but even in wolf form she was very pretty. Carlisle gave a short welcome speech, explained how the newborns differed from them, and I was asked to give a small demonstration of my strength. It was still unclear if I would be an asset in the training so I sat next to Bella as the rest of them trained. She and I both shared concern for Alice since she was such a tiny girl, but after she and Jasper showed us why we had no reason to worry, we quickly moved on. I was impressed with how well they all fought, then learning that Jasper was in the Civil War, and was a part of the famed newborn wars that took place in the South at that time was even more impressive. Bella and Edward were at our house taking care of things, and while there Bella ended up taking a nap. As she lies there on the couch, she woke from a nightmare. She then had this feeling that the newborn army was the doing of this Victoria woman, and that the newborns were her puppets. That set fear in both Edward and Jasper, but we quickly came up with a plan to keep Bella safe. I would join her and Edward at a campsite out of the way, and that young Seth would join us as well. Jake was to carry Bella to this site while Edward would take one way there, I took another, and Jake took yet another way. It was all in hopes to confuse anyone who might come looking for Bella, like this Victoria woman. I had discovered along with the truth about this woman, that a local kid, Riley Biers, who disappeared a year ago was with the newborn army. That was nice to finally solve his case, but at the same time it hurt me to know because he was a vampire that was joining this Victoria woman in trying to kill Bella and the Cullens. I knew that with him joining the battle, there would not be any trace of his body to return to his family for a proper burial. We trained so hard for this upcoming battle, and although it was still unclear if I would be a hazard in this battle I was trained to fight as well just in case. It was more of a one on one session with Jasper, but still I was taught a few things that my law enforcement training didn't include. It was absolutely fun to get some sort of training instead of me sitting like a bump on a log. I understood that Bella felt like that, but she was still human, and there was no way we were going to risk her getting hurt! All of us went hunting to prepare for the battle, well, I went to keep me from getting weak minded around Bella, and Edward stayed behind to provide protection for Bella incase Victoria got jumpy.

It seemed something significant took place while we were gone, because when we got back, Bella was a bit hesitant around me. I guess Edward was reading the concern in my head, because after pulling Bella aside they came to talk to me. "Um, Dad, uh, Edward and I would, um, like to uh, tell you about something, and I uh, don't know how you will react to um, what uh is um going on." "Bells, I have an eternity here, so I have all the time in the world, I won't be upset with you. Just spit it out already." I had to encourage her to tell me whatever it was she was trying so hard not say. "Well, Charlie, I know I am doing this backwards here, but since Bella already said yes, I would like to have your blessing to have Bella's hand in marriage, sir." Okay, so Edward had to finish what Bella was trying to spit out. I was shocked at first, then I remembered the conversation Bella and I had about if I thought marriage had value. I must have had a mixed emotion look on my face that confused Bella, but Edward tried to hide his smile. He knew I was thinking that it was okay, but didn't let it slip from his lips. "Bells, you love him right?" "Yes Dad, I really do love him." "Edward, you really love her with all that is in you?" "Yes sir, I do." "Well then Bells, Edward, you both have my blessing. I wonder what Renee's reaction to this will be. She was more against early marriage than I ever was, but now with this new life I have, I can see that there is no question about the love between you two." Bella was apparently very surprised at my answer because she just stood there with her mouth opened a bit in shock. It wasn't a look of betrayal shock; it was a look of shock in elation that I gave my blessing so freely after I had not hidden the fact that I was angry with Edward for leaving Bella the way he did. There was no denying I was livid with him, but now that I fully understood the reasoning behind it all, I wasn't as angry. I did mention to him that he should have thought about the possibility of this crazy Victoria woman coming after Bella though. He told me that he didn't think she would come after Bella if they weren't around, but it only proved to the Cullens how crazy and sadistic Victoria really was. "Bells, are you alright?" "Y-yeah I am. Thank you so much Dad! I love you forever!" she finally managed to speak after a moment of total surprise. "Okay, you don't have to call Renee until after the battle. I figure you might need the time to figure out just how you are going to break the news to her. I hope she will be reasonable with you." She and Edward nodded, and then went out to the garage to go over the camping gear they had. It was a bit ironic to me to see so much gear for vampires, but then I realized in the charade of being human it made more sense to have all that gear. The story was that when it was sunny the Cullen's went camping and hiking, so if you were doing so in the human world, you would need tents, sleeping bags, etc. It worked out great in this case, because we were going to need the gear for Bella. I just hope we can stop this crazy vampire once and for all. I can't stand the thought of Bella in so much danger.

(Bella POV)

I was very surprised that Charlie had actually given us his blessing for marriage. I was sure he would read me the riot act, but after spending so much time with Edward and his family, I guess Charlie could see the true love between me and Edward. I was just as equally shocked to hear him say to take my time to think about how I was going to tell my mom about the news. As Edward and I were going through the camping gear, Alice came into the garage to inform us we would need warm gear since there was a storm coming that would bring snow to the higher elevations. Edward thanked Alice for the information. No sooner had she said that he put the tent he first grabbed back, and grabbed a different one. "What is the difference in tents?" I couldn't help but wonder these things since I am no way an outdoorsy type. "This one has a better fabric for the colder elements than the first one. It is thicker and more resistant to snow and wind than the other one." he said as he grabbed a thicker sleeping bag than the rest of them. I had so many butterflies in my stomach for so many reasons. I was elated about being with Edward, nervous about the wedding, scared that Victoria would win, and that Charlie might get killed as a newborn vampire. What a crazy world my life has become. Edward must have seen the worry on my face, because he gently cupped my chin in his hand, lifting my head up so I could look into his liquid gold eyes. "Bella, you don't have to worry. Charlie will be with us. Seth will be there, I will be there, and with the wolves in this fight it will be an easy win." We heard Alice clear her throat which startled me for a half a second. "What is it Alice?" Edward asked. "I just wanted to come tell Bella myself that I don't see any problem with Charlie being with you at the campsite. He will be okay, Bella. Trust us. None of us will let his temper get out of control, and he will be fine." "Thanks Alice. I just can't help think that all of you are once again having to put yourselves in danger to protect me. I don't know what I would do if any of you got hurt." I knew that they thought my worries were a bit on the silly side, but they are my vampire family, and I couldn't stand the thought of any of them getting hurt over me. "Bella, love, we will be just fine. You will see." Edward said smiling my favorite crooked smile. I was getting dizzy looking at him, then I remembered to breath so I could keep myself steady. We were almost done going over the gear when Edward stiffened up for a second. "What is it Edward?" At that instant he relaxed as Jacob and Jasmine came into view. "Hey Bella, Edward. Jasmine wanted to talk with you all for a bit, explaining her situation, and all." Jake said in a soft tone. It seemed like he really did admire her, and I couldn't help but wonder if he had imprinted on her. "Sounds good." We all sat in the yard together as Jasmine told of her story and of her parents. There was no doubt to her story when Edward said he saw the whole story in her head, the memories her aunt and grandmother had of her father being a vampire set on being destroyed after his mate was taken from him as another vampire shoved her into a fire pit that was going just below the cliff they were standing on. Some careless human left the fire going as he went fishing on the lake. They were waiting for him and his friend to come back so they could feed, and a fight broke out. "You see; it was then that the truth about vampires not having kids was made clear. He had no idea he could get a human pregnant, let alone a shape shifter like us. It does give Leah hope for a family down the line, and it gives male vampires the knowledge that they can have a child with a human. I can tell the love between the both of you, and I wanted to share my story with you in case you chose to be intimate with each other. We found that drinking blood at the beginning of the pregnancy would give you the strength you need. The reason my mother died in child birth was because she was already warned by doctors not to have children because of a medical condition that would kill her in child birth. I was born by caesarian section since it was near impossible for a regular birth. She could have very well been changed had it not been for the heart condition she had that was the risk to her having a child. She was dead just thirty seconds of my birth. My father felt bad enough as it was, but knowing he could not change her set him over the edge. He ran right into a forest fire the next day. My family didn't want to keep my true nature from me, so they were very open with me about what happened." I was in awe of Jasmine as she told us this news. I then saw the longing and hurt in Rosalie's eyes. I asked her if she would come talk with me for a minute. "Rosalie, if Edward and I have a child, I want your help with it. Jasmine said it was possible to survive the birth, and be changed, so if that happens, I will need you to take care of the baby while I am in the change. Would you be willing to do this?" After seeing the shock in her face, then the shame she had being not only being jealous of my humanity, but for treating me so badly, she regained her composure. "I would be honored to help you Bella. If you can find it in your heart to forgive me for my behavior, I would like it if you started calling me Rose from now on. Family calls me Rose." I simply smiled at her and said, "Thank you, Rose." We walked back to the group in a comfortable silence. Edward looked at the both of us, then just smiled as I am sure he read Rose's mind on our conversation. He knew the turmoil with Rose was officially over.

(Edward POV)

It was hard to turn Bella down on the intimacy, but I wanted to be married to her first, and to talk to Carlisle about it as well. I didn't want to risk killing Bella, but I most definitely wanted that intimate moment with her. I was over joyed when she finally agreed to marry me, and even more over joyed when Charlie gave us his blessing. Hearing Jasmine's story gave me the chills as if that were even possible, but it still did. I could see the look on Bella's face as this news of having a child would be a possibility, and then the pain in Rose's face was almost too much to bare. I was about to find a way to console her, but then Bella beat me to the punch. I wanted to hear the conversation through Rose's thoughts, but felt that Bella and Rose really needed this talk, so I waited until they came back to take a peek. The deal Bella and Rose made was one I was very proud of the both of them for making. Knowing now that there was the possibility of Bella and I having a child thrilled Rose more than I thought possible. Charlie was a bit upset at the news that it was a potential thing that could kill Bella, but Jasmine was very sure that it was survivable if the right precautions were made as the pregnancy progressed. I have to admit, it thrilled me a bit to know that I could have a child with Bella. The Mason line was not lost with this possibility, and although Cullen was my last name now, it was still the blood line that would live on. I was more sure now than ever that I wanted to try to have a baby with Bella. That night, we all talked about the plan for the battle, and for once Charlie didn't mind that I was laying with Bella in her bed. He knew I was sincere about wanting to be married to Bella before we were intimate, and knowing that she would be alone at the house made him nervous. He knew I would not let anything happen to her as she slept. All that was left was to meet up with Jacob in the morning, hand Bella off to him so he could carry her to the site, and wait. The very thought of Jacob caring Bella after he had tried to force her into kissing him still made me apprehensive, but Jasper assured me that his revolting odor would mask Bella's sweet scent throwing the newborns off her trial. The newborns being repelled by the odor throwing them off my Bella's scent was the only good thing about this horrible plan.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

(Edward POV)

Bella was stirring in the bed, but not having the usual nightmare, for which I was thankful for. She sat up, rubbing her eyes to adjust to the morning, and then the brief moment of mind numbing fear hit her. "Edward, this will work, right?" she asked me in a weary voice still thick from sleep. "Yes. It will. You know I will never let anyone hurt you. Remember, with the wolves in, it will be an easy win. After seeing how quickly Jasmine moves accompanied by the vampire strength, she will be a very good asset in the fight as well." It wasn't necessary for Bella to worry so much over this little battle. Yes, we were going up against a newborn army, but with this being Jasper's expertise we were very confident we would win with no problems. "I will be downstairs so you can get dressed." I said shooting her a crooked smile and closing the door behind me. It didn't take long before she came down the stairs and into the kitchen. "What do you want for breakfast?" "Um, I will just grab a bowl of cereal really quick. I guess I am just not that hungry right now." she said as she poured the cereal into a bowl. She kind of froze for a minute with the fridge door open, and that worried me a bit. "Bella, what's wrong?" She closed the door after pouring the milk and putting it back, then slowly turned to me with a small pained look on her face. "Charlie only got to use Harry Clearwater's famous fish fry once before Victoria bit him. Now we have all this fish fry that Sue made for him." she said with a sadness. "Oh. Wait, if it's Harry's fish fry how..." she cut me off really quick realizing what I was asking. "Sue knew how Harry made it, and Charlie was the only person she was willing to make it for. And now he is a vampire, and she might be hurt that he can't eat the fish fry now." I understood the sadness then, and hugged her. "It will be alright I am sure." She finished her cereal, quickly washed her dishes, and set them on the towel to dry. "Shall we get going so we can set things up?" "I was just thinking we should get going. I know it's going to be a long hike up the mountain." I answered back. We walked out the door, and we drove to the perfect spot before running to the meeting spot with Jacob.

Charlie was already there, as well as the rest of the family. Bella asked if it would bother Charlie if she pricked her finger, that's when both Alice and I answered her. "No, he will be fine. You are his daughter so he has no desire for your blood." "Okay, good. I want to be thorough with luring the newborn army here with my scent." she said as she took a small pin to her finger. She wiped her blood on trees, leaves, and a few rocks leading them into the clearing. I had a first aid kit with me, so I used an alcohol wipe to clean the spot she cut, then put a band aid on it. "Are you sure this isn't bothering you?" "Yes, Bella. It does not bother me anymore." I said as I used the wipe to cleans the spot. "Since when?" she asked with obvious curiosity in her tone. "Since I spent twenty-four hours thinking you were dead." I said humbly. "You're not wearing your ring?" I have to admit that surprised me to see it missing. "Yeah, for two reasons. First, I honestly don't want to lose it. Second I don't want Jake to see it right now. He needs to keep a clear head during the battle." I was pleased with the first reason, but I couldn't have cared less about the second reason. Jacob Black had tried to force my Bella into a kiss, and therefore I felt he had the right to know that she clearly chose me over him. "I will tell him when the time is right, Edward. That time is after the battle and not before. He needs to focus on the battle and not the anger and hurt over me right now." she continued as if she could see what I was thinking of the second reason she had given me.

(Bella POV)

I could see it in Edward's face that he was hurt by me not wearing the ring. The first reason really was my main concern, but I also didn't want to hurt Jake like that right now. Not with my life in danger once again because the sadistic Victoria was hell bent on my death. I would tell Jake, just when I feel the time is right. "Who needs a clear head right now?" Jake had asked as he approached us. "Everyone at the moment. You know, I just have a bunch of vampires out to kill me right now." I said to break the tension. "Okay then. Charlie it is clear for you to go the way you are going. Edward, I promise I will get her to the site unharmed...AND I won't force her into a kiss." I am betting he threw that it to reassure him it would be okay. "Fine." Edward said as he bent down to kiss my forehead. "I will see you in a couple of hours. I love you." "I love you, too." I said as he ran off in the direction he had chosen to go. "What's up?" Jake asked with one eyebrow raised. "Oh, you know, with the pending fight and my life once again in danger, it has Edward on edge." That statement was very true. No need to further complicate things by telling my best friend that my fiancé really didn't want me in his arms since the forced kiss incident. Jake ran with me in his arms with ease, only slowing for the spots where it got pretty rocky. Finally, after two hours we reached the campsite. Charlie was already there waiting with Edward, even though Charlie had about a full two-minute head start, Edward still beat Charlie there by ten minutes. As Jake set me down for the last two rocks, Edward smiled, clearly relieved that I was finally back in his arms. "Thank you, Jacob." he managed to say that with genuine feeling behind it. "The storm is getting closer. Let's get you inside Bella." Edward said as he led me to the tent with his hand at the small of my back. I nodded as the wind picked up a little. Charlie gathered some firewood so that Jake and I could have it to make something to eat. I offered to cook since I was so use to it, and Jake accepted with my favorite Jake smile. After we ate, we noted that it was getting dark. We put out the fire so we wouldn't give our position away during the night, and I said good night to Jake. As the storm hit, it was fierce. I was so cold despite the sleeping bag I was in was one meant for below zero temperatures, and the layers of clothes I was wearing. It pained both Edward and Charlie to know that there was nothing they could do to warm me. Just as my teeth started to rattle more, Jake came into the tent complaining he couldn't sleep over my apparent chattering. Edward did not like what he read in Jake's mind because in an instant his hands were gripping Jake's arm. "Don't even think about it Jacob! "he hissed at him. Charlie when into full cop mode at that point. "Hey, hey now. Tell me what is the problem." he demanded. "Jacob was thinking of crawling into the sleeping bag with Bella." was all Edward said. Charlie let out a small growl, but before he could get upset Jake put his hands up and asked if he could explain. "I was only thinking that with my one hundred eight-degree body temperature it would keep Bella from freezing to death." Charlie seem to think that the idea was a good one. "Edward, he wouldn't dare try anything with me sitting here. I don't think it would hurt anything." That was the one thing Edward was relying on, because it worked. It was about three minutes after Jake got into the sleeping bag that I was warm enough to relax. Soon after that the sleep that had been evading me found me. It wasn't a deep sleep since I could faintly hear the conversation going on around me, but it was still sleep none the less. "She could still choose me, Edward." Jake was saying about my love and devotion to the both of them. "Jake, you may be an amazing guy, but I have gotten a better look at how these two feel about each other." Charlie added into the mix. "I know she wouldn't, but if she did, I would let her go. I know you can give her a life, a human life. You can keep her safe, as well. But it's like I told you before, I am not going anywhere unless she orders me away." This stunned me and apparently Charlie because of the sound in his voice. "Edward? You would just let her go if she chose Jake?!" "Yes, I would, but I know she won't choose him. Jacob, if you weren't trying to steal the reason for my existence, and if we weren't natural enemies, I would actually like you a lot." I heard Jake scoff in surprise. "Well if you weren't planning on sucking the life out of the girl I am in love with...nope, not even then!" Jake answered back. After another moment it became kind of quiet. I could only guess it was so that they would not disturb me as I slept. I could sense the sun kind of peeking through small breaks in the clouds, and then the heat blast that had been with me all night was suddenly gone. I realized that Jake must have gone outside the tent. I soon woke up, and made my way out of the tent.

No sooner had I exited the tent, I was face to face with a wolf. "Oh, yeah, hey there Seth." I said with a warm smile. He nodded his greeting to me, then looked behind him. I saw Edward approaching, and as if they could communicate silently, Seth went up the hill behind the tent. "I'm sorry about last night. I know it was hard on you." Edward cupped my chin in his hand, and with a soft crooked smile said, "Well it won't make my top ten favorite nights that is for sure!" That took me off guard for a moment. "You have a list?" "All ten of them I spent with you. My number one favorite is the one where you said you would marry me, Mrs. Cullen." I blushed at that for a second. "Who knows, with this being the twenty first century, I just might hyphenate my name." Just then a hurt voice broke out in a loud tone. "YOU ARE MARRYING HIM!?" I whipped my head up and stared into the hurt, agonized eyes of my best friend. "Oh, Edward! You knew he was listening didn't you! Jake, I'm sorry. I..." "I AM SO DONE BELLA!" "Jake! Please stop!" Jake was storming off, and I knew I had to go talk to him. Edward tried to stop me, but I yanked my arm out of his hand shooting him an angry glare. Charlie tried to ask me what was wrong, but I ignored him and chased after Jacob. "I let Jacob know that Bella was marrying me in a roundabout way." I heard Edward confess flatly to Charlie. "Jake stop! Please!" "I am not doing this Bella. I have to go. I need to go kill something. Maybe I will get killed in the process so it will be easier for you so you don't have to look at me with pathetic eyes." I could not believe what he just said. "Jake don't! Just stay Jake." He scoffed and huffed at me. "What for? You will be free to marry your bloodsucker without me getting in the way." I flinched at his words. "Jake, you are to important to me. I can't and don't want to lose you. I need to have you in my life." I could feel my knees getting weak. "I should go. I don't belong here anymore. I am not THAT important to you!" That hurt me more than he could possibly have known, because the next thing that came out of my mouth shocked us both. "Jacob, kiss me!" "What did you just say?" "Jacob, I am asking you to kiss me." What was I saying? I don't know what came over me, but no sooner did it sound like I was begging him to kiss me, he put his hand on the back of my neck, and one around my waist. His lips were on mine, parting them and with no warning my lips were moving with his. After about a few minutes, he let go, then whispered, "That should have been our first kiss, Bella. I have to go, but I will be back." With that he disappeared into the woods. It took me a moment to regain my bearings, then slowly made my way back to the tent. Edward was standing there with a sad, but understanding look on his face. "You saw, didn't you?" In his soft velvety voice, he answered simply, "No, but Jacob's thoughts were very loud." "I honestly don't know what just happened." Edward took in my expression. He could see I truly was kind of confused. "You love him, Bella." That wasn't a question he asked, but a fact. "But I love you more." The soft smile that came over his face was one to make me go weak in the knees again, then he gave a very short answer to that. "I know." Charlie came up to us along the side of Seth. "It's starting." Edward said. I noticed the look on Charlie's face, wondering what it was he had missed. "I kissed Jake, and let Edward know that I do love Jake as well as I love him too." Charlie scratched his head in confusion, but let the subject drop as the battle began.

We got a play by play commutations of the battle for a moment. "Jacob just got there. He is good." Edward listened and saw the battle through Seth's mind, but suddenly froze with a gasp. "What? Is someone hurt?" "No, she's close! I can smell her scent. Charlie, you and Seth go. She's not alone." It was a minute after Edward said this that a boy came into view. I recognized him from the flyers all over town. This was the missing boy, Riley Biers. "She found us" I whispered in Edward's shoulder. "Riley, listen to me. Victoria is using you to distract me. She knows I will kill you." Just then a thud sound got my attention. There she was, crouched down after jumping out of a tree, glaring that murderous look at me. "Remember what I told you about their mind tricks." she chimed at Riley. "I CAN read her mind, so I know what she really thinks of you. She can't wait for me to kill you so she doesn't have to worry about you any more, or pretend to love you when you kiss her. The only reason she created this army was to avenge the death of her TRUE mate, James. She does not love you, Riley." Edward said as a matter of factly. That must of stumped Riley, because he took a minute, shook his head to clear it, then turned to Victoria. "He's lying. There is only you. You know that. I love you. Don't let him do this to us." She fake pleaded with Riley. He took another minute, then simply said, "You're dead." At that moment we had our own battle start as Seth leaped out and attacked Riley. Victoria was shocked at this, then decided to flee to save her own neck. "You won't get another chance like this! " Edward yelled out to her. She stopped in her tracks, turned and looked at Edward in pure surprise. "You want her! You want me to feel the pain you felt when I killed James. When I tore him to pieces. When I turned him into ash!" He continued to bait her. It worked, because she let out an angry growl and launched herself towards me. Edward engaged her in battle as Seth as dealing with Riley. At one point Riley gave Seth a good kick knocking him out for a moment. The battle raged on, then somehow the fight became worse as both Riley and Victoria were about to kill Edward in front of me. I knelt down, and found a sharp rock. I quickly took it to my arm, and made a cut causing me to bleed. This distracted them, and gave Edward the upper hand on them. Seth then came roaring around and grabbed Riley, dragging him off to tear him apart. As Edward started after Victoria, Charlie came out of hiding, causing Victoria to lose concentration for just a second, allowing Edward to take her head off. Charlie and Edward both looked at me exasperated. Then Edward took a sliver lighter out of his pocket, and caught Victoria's body on fire. "I remembered a story about the Quileutes and a third wife's sacrifice. It came to me when I saw you in trouble." I told Edward and Charlie sheepishly. Just then, Seth snarled towards Edward. "Something is wrong." I guessed. "Alice needs us to go. Now!" I hopped onto Edward's back, and we raced down to the clearing. "How long?" Edward asked Alice. "About ten minutes or so?" "The pack needs to leave. The Volturi won't honor the truce with the wolves." Carlisle said with concern. Just then a newborn came out from behind a rock. "Leah! Don't!" Edward shouted, but it was too late. She charged the vampire anyway. Jake saw this and ran to help her. At that moment, they rolled around, and the newborn got behind him, crushing him and letting him drop to the ground. He phased back into human form instantly, in obvious pain. Edward was at his side in a split second. "Jacob, hold on. Carlisle will take care of you." "We will take him to Billy's" Sam said. "Charlie, will you please go with them. We don't want the Volturi thinking you were teamed up with the army and destroying you." Carlisle asked. Charlie nodded, and helped take Jake back home to Billy. A moment later, Alice informed us they were coming. Jane, her brother Alec, Felix, and Demetri all came into view. Disgust was obvious on their faces as they made their approach. "It appears we missed a very entertaining fight." Jane said in her dead tone. "Never seen a coven escape an attack of this magnitude" Alec finished. "We got very luck." Carlisle said. Jane then smirked as she spotted a young looking girl hiding behind Carlisle and Esme. "You missed one" delight colored her tone. "Yes, well we offered her asylum in return for her surrender." Carlisle replied. Jane was put out by this news. "That was not yours to offer!" she quipped back angrily. At that instant Jane used her gift to cause pain in the girl, as she interrogated her. "Why are you here? Who made you?" The girl screamed out in pure agonizing pain. Then gasped with relief as Jane had eased up on her. "I don't know. I just know we were told to kill all the golden eyed vampires, and who ever got to this girl, we could kill her." she replied as she pointed a finger at me. "Riley would not tell us anything. He said our thoughts weren't safe around the golden eyes." she finished. Carlisle pleaded with Jane. "Give her a chance." Jane turned her gaze to Carlisle and once again spoke in a dead tone. "The Volturi don't give second chances! Keep that in mind. Caius will be so interested to know that she is still human!" I hated the way she sneered the word "she" as she gave me the look of pending satisfaction of watching her masters kill me. "The date is set." I simply replied. "Felix, take care of that. I want to go home." The big muscled guard walked towards the girl. Esme cried out then. "Please! She didn't know what she was doing. We will take responsibility for her." Jane ignored her plea, and ordered Felix to continue. We all turned our backs so we didn't see the horrific scene of this young girl being ripped into two and then burned.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

(Bella POV)

I told Edward that I was going to La Push to see how Jake was doing and there was no way he was stopping me. "Bella, even if your father and Carlisle wasn't down there, I would still let you go. I know that his injuries worry you, and I know that you love him, so I am not going to stop you." I was so prepared for an argument, and I was pleasantly surprised that none was needed.

"Thank you, Edward. This means so much to me." I said to him as I reached up to give him a kiss. I jumped into my truck and pushed it as fast as it would go all the while the engine groaned in protest. As I pulled up to the Black's house I saw that most of the pack were outside along with Emily, Billy, Charlie, and Sue Clearwater. "Hey..." was all I managed to get out before I heard the blood curdling scream coming from inside the house. Billy winced and grabbed Sue's hand for comfort.

"The doc is rebreaking his bones." Jared had told me.

"Why did Jake get in the way?! I could have taken that stupid tick with no problem!" Leah said in a smug and almost snide tone.

"Leah! That's enough!" Paul snapped at her. Just then the door opened and Carlisle, Sam, and Charlie came out. "The worst is over, his injuries should heal quickly and properly. I gave him some morphine to help the pain, but with the high body temperatures you have, he will burn it off soon. I will come back to set up a drip for him." Carlisle said in a reassuring way. Billy looked up at Carlisle with a different look that I had never seen on him when dealing with the Cullens. It was one of admiration. "Thank you." Billy said with sincerity and relief all the while offering his hand for a meaningful handshake. Carlisle took his hand for the shake, smiled at Billy, as he spoke with humbleness, "You're welcome. Glad I could help him. Bella, he is asking for you." I looked to Billy for an unspoken permission. Billy nodded once, so I went inside.

"Hey Jake." I hated to see him lying there on his bed wrapped in bandages and looking quite painful. "I was worried about you." he finally managed to say after a small wince of pain. "About me?" I was shocked since it was him lying there all wrapped in bandages. "Yeah. I kind of figured Edward would have read my thoughts." Understanding quickly came to me, but I was still horrified at how Jake looked. "He wasn't even mad at me, or even you for that matter." I whispered. "Well damn, he is better than I thought." The underlined meaning of that made me realize that he thinks Edward is playing a game.

"Jake, he's not playing games here. He knows how I truly feel, and I know how he truly feels. That's all that matters." "Bella, he's not as perfect as you think he is." Ugh, why does Jake have to be like this even in this horrible situation he got in, he has to be like this.

"I know who he is Jacob." "At least I know I did everything I could. Ya' know it wasn't easy at all getting you to admit your feelings for me." I sighed, knelt down by his bed, ran my fingers through his hair, and looked into his eyes.

"I only felt them because I knew it would not change a thing. You know I do love you." He grim minced in pain and at his realization that I was not leaving Edward.

"You know how much I wish it was enough that you love me. I am exactly right for you Bella. You wouldn't have to change for me. I am not going to give up."

"Until my heart stops beating." I whispered as I headed for his bedroom door. "Maybe not even then." he said as he slowly started to get drowsy. "Should I come back?" He winced in pain as he took a breath. "I need some time." then his eyelids looked very heavy. I nodded and walked out the door.

Charlie was talking to Billy and Sue, and I only caught part of the conversation, but it sounded like Charlie had felt an electric charge when he had given Sue a hug. "It's like nothing I have ever felt in all my life, er, uh, existence I guess is the right term to use now." Charlie had apparently tried to describe what it was that jolted him a bit as he hugged her. I knew right away what Charlie had felt, and what it meant. I knew that the Cullens and I would have to explain the significance behind it, and that Edward and I felt the same electric charge. "Well, Dad, I guess we should be getting back. There are lots to talk about when we get back to the Cullens." Charlie hopped into the truck, and we waved to everyone as we pulled away.

(Charlie POV)

It was awful to have to hold my best friend's son down as Carlisle did the pain staking task of rebreaking Jacob's bones so that they would heal normally. Well as normally as a shape shifting human/wolf can be anyway. I was told about the visitors that had come out. It was shocking that the vampire world had something like royalty that governed and enforced the laws vampires have. They had no regard for humans, and yet I had to leave Bella there to face them, yet again. I was told that no matter what, she was going to have to become a vampire or be killed for knowing about their existence. I shuddered at the very thought of this coven trying to hurt Bella. I could feel Bella's eyes look at me with thoughtfulness in them, and I wondered why she had a small grin on her face as well. "Did everything go okay between you and Jacob tonight?" I finally managed to ask. "Well, not so well, but there is no more misunderstandings between us now." I was happy to hear that. Well at least Jacob can see that Bella really did love Edward. "So, what is with the grin? You have had this grin on your face since I had mentioned the electric charge I felt when I hugged Sue." "I will explain when we get back to the Cullen's house. They will help me explain it to you." We fell into our comfortable silence the rest of the way there. Once inside the Cullens and Bella explained the mating pull to me. That was what they called it with the whole electric charge I felt when I hugged Sue. Humans aren't supposed to be able to feel it, but Bella did when she touched Edward in biology class last school year. There was no avoiding it or denying it now. Bella and Edward really were meant for each other.

(Bella POV)

Edward wanted to spend time in our meadow, so we spent part of the afternoon talking about the kiss between me and Jake, the date I have chosen, how Edward thought that it was a mistake to let Alice take control of planning the wedding, and finally, the subject he dreaded the most, my pending transformation. "Bella, are you sure you want Alice to do the planning? I mean the dress might not be something that you would chose, and who knows just who she might invite.

" I laughed a bit. "Does it really matter?" "Just tell me what you are doing, Bella." I was confused by his statement.

"What, the wedding? Edward, I..." he cut me off, clearly concerned about something. "No, you are already giving up too much. You are trying to make everyone happy." Okay, clearly he thinks I am ignoring my love for Jake.

"Oh, I see. This wasn't about a decision between you and Jake. This is about who I really am, and who I should be. I know I have made a huge mess trying to figure this out, but I know what the right thing is here. I have always felt out of step in my life, like stumbling through it really. I never really felt normal, because I am not normal. I don't want to be.

I know I have experienced pain and loss in your world, but I have also never felt stronger. Safer. More real, more myself because it's my world too." He laughed a short laugh, as he spoke, "So this isn't about me then?"

"No, sorry." I sighed, and started up again. "I am going to start living my life the way I should be. Tying myself to you in every way humanly possible." He grinned my favorite crooked grin.

"Starting with a wedding then." I let out a nervous chuckle. "Actually something a little scarier, and maybe dangerous. We have to call and tell my mom." That made him laugh. "Yeah, that is scary and has the potential of being very dangerous." He put my ring back on my finger, and we headed back to his house.

I called my mother, and told her that Edward and I would fly out to Michigan to meet up with her and Phil over the weekend since he had a game there. She was over joyed to hear that we would be visiting her up there, and then wondered why. "Really Mom, it's no trouble. We just kind of want to get away for a weekend before we get things ready for college." I said innocently. "Well, alright Bella. I miss you so much! I guess I don't really care why you are doing this, just as long as we get to see each other and spend a little more time together. I gotta go sweetheart. I love you." "I love you too Mom. Tell Phil I say hi." "Oh, I will. Bye." "Bye, Mom."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

(Bella POV)

I was quiet on the drive to the airport in Seattle, just thinking of how to word the engagement to my mother. I would also continue the story about Charlie having food poisoning from a hole in the wall restaurant in Seattle. I don't know how well or bad my mom will take the news. She always drilled it into my head that smart people waited until they graduated from college before they got married, not right out of high school.

"What are you thinking about?" Edward's velvet voice broke my thoughts for a moment. "Oh, just how my mother will take the news that we are getting married. She always insisted that smart people waited until after college to get married, so I have no idea how she will deal with this news." I said glumly.

He sighed, then smiled my favorite crooked smile. "I'm sure she will be happy that you found true love, Bella. Maybe she will see what an amazingly smart woman you have become."

I thought about that for just a minute, laughed a bit, then smiled. "Yeah, she always said I was born middle aged, so maybe she won't be angry." We fell back into a comfortable silence again until we got to the airport. One of the many things to get use to is flying first class. As a Cullen, you don't fly coach, you fly first class. We got through security and found our gate easily, then waited for our flight to board.

As we taxied out of the gate, I took a few deep breaths to calm myself. It's not as if I am going to confess to a major crime here, just that I was getting married. About fifteen minutes into the flight I could see out of the corner of my eye some bleach blonde girl practically drooling over Edward, and was trying so hard to gain his attention. I ignored it at first, but then the bimbo got up, and "accidently" dropped her brush as she was headed to use the rest room to "freshen up". Edward chuckled a bit, rolled his eyes, and so calmly said, "miss, you dropped your brush" then turned to kiss me ever so softly on my forehead.

"Relax my love, you have my heart. No other woman could hold a candle to you." I smiled and leaned into him as I settled into my seat more comfortable. The blonde girl, bent down in an obvious final attempt to get Edward to look, but huffed when he just ignored her as if she weren't even there. I knew I had all the single ladies on the plane jealous of me for having this perfect man all to myself. With that I had internal satisfaction.

It was an interesting flight to say the least, but when we started to make us descend into Detroit I started to get nervous again. "Just breath Bella, we still have to drive to Lansing, so just try to be calm." Edward's cool breath on my cheek made my heart skip a few beats, which didn't help at all, but he was right. I was worrying over nothing at the moment. We told my mom that we would meet up at the restaurant in the hotel for dinner, so I had about two hours to get myself calm.

After we landed and pulled to the gate, there was one last lame attempt from that stupid blonde girl to get Edward to notice her, and after what she did, how could he not? How could anyone really not notice a woman who got "accidently" pushed by her traveling companion onto your lap?

"Oomph. Oh, so sorry about that. My sister must really be eager to get off the plane. I am Tiffany by the way. What's your name?" she said in an impossibly irritating bubble gum pop type voice.

Edward was ever so good at lying, and this one just made me laugh. "I'm Alex, and I hate to offend you, but you are just way too blonde for my taste. Besides, as you can see I prefer brunettes."

She hurried off his lap, and just stocked off in a huff, mumbling something about stupid men and wanting the "smart looking" women when it was blondes who were more fun than boring brown haired idiots. "Alex?" I asked perplexed. "I really didn't want to give her my real name, let alone have that thing on my lap. She made me feel so uncomfortable. I laughed again, and as we grabbed our carry on, we walked hand in hand to the baggage claim then to get our rental car.

We checked into the hotel, got up to our suite, and I felt the need to shower. After I got out of the shower and dressed, I called my mother to see if they were still coming to dinner. She said they were on their way, and would be there in about five minutes. I hung up, and we went down to the restaurant to wait. When I saw my mother I could not help myself from smiling. She looked so happy, and Phil was as pleased to see us as we were to see them.

"Come, let's get our table." Edward said herding us to the entrance to the restaurant. We sat down, talked, looked over the menu, ordered, and then we got down to business. "Edward, aren't you going to eat?" My mom asked with a bit of motherly concern.

"Um, I'm actually not very hungry right now. I will grab something a little later. No need to put off dinner on my account. That would not be very considerate of me." he replied in his soft velvet voice that always melts my heart.

"So, Bella, what is all the mystery about? What news or event has you so wound up?" my mom continued on to me.

Edward cleared his throat, and took over answering for me. "Well, Renee, the fact is I have asked Bella to marry me, and with Charlie's blessings, she has agreed to be my wife." he said so proudly and wide smiled.

"Oh my gosh! I was wondering when this would finally happen! Bella, I am so happy for you. Oh, and your ring is so beautiful. Congratulations to the both of you!" she cooed and gushed at us. I have to admit it took me by surprise for sure.

"Really Mom? You are happy for us, honestly?" I asked confusion clear on my face.

"Oh, Bella, I know I have drilled it into your head that smart people wait until after college, but sweetheart, you are much more mature than I was at your age. I realize I said it was a mistake for me to marry Charlie so young, but you really aren't making my mistake. You are making a choice that is right for you. He does make you happy doesn't he?"

"Well, yes, mom, Edward does make me very happy." She smiled, "Well, then, as long as he makes you happy, and you are sure this is what you want, what more can I say except congratulations, and I hope nothing but the best for you both." I was ecstatic that she was taking this so well.

"Congratulations Bella, Edward. I hope you have a lifetime of pure happiness." Phil said as he smiled. Phil and Edward talked baseball while my mother and I talked about wedding details.

I had told her that Alice was helping me with the wedding, and that the theme was centered around the antique ring on my finger. How could I tell her it was really centered around Edward himself? She would not believe the love of my life was born in 1901.

"Oh, and to think the ring has been in Edward's family since the late 1890s. Was it really his great grandmother's engagement ring?" she couldn't help but wonder. "Yes. It was passed on to his grandmother, then to his mother, then to him, then to me." I said oddly convincingly enough. The part that it was his mother's was true after all, and he wanted me to have something that meant the world to him that was tangible from his human life.

We talked on well after we were done eating dinner and dessert, and the restaurant staff just left us alone to catch up. It was clear to them that a celebration was in order, so they allowed us the time. Edward never showed any sign of impatience with my mother as she threw question after question at him regarding his feelings on a wedding centered around the ring. He actually found it rather amusing to see my mother gush on and on about it. I was glad she accepted the news and was interested enough to ask if she could have some input on the wedding. I told her I was sure Alice wouldn't mind at all. As we talked the thought kind of slowly hit me, my family was glad about this wedding, and although I had been a bit uneasy about the whole thing, I was actually excited to become a Cullen officially.

(Renee POV)

Seeing Bella waiting for us to arrive, pacing back and forth, I could tell she had something huge on her mind. I had to wonder if it was something like being pregnant, but I would not assume anything. She wanted to tell me, she would, and so I just held onto Phil's hand as we entered the hotel lobby. I was so happy to see her; I practically ran to hug her. Edward had to break up the hug by suggesting getting our table. I guess Bella was relieved for this, because I honestly think I was squeezing Bella.

As a mother, being so far away from my daughter was torture, but I always knew my Bella could handle much more than I could. "Are you sure you aren't hungry?" I just had to ask Edward to be sure. I didn't want to be rude by eating in front of him. I felt better when he reassured me that he would get something later. After we ordered, I just couldn't wait anymore, I just had to ask Bella what was on her mind. I could see the stress in Bella's face after I asked her what was on her mind. You would have thought I had asked her to confess to a major crime, but ever the gentleman, Edward spoke up to tell me that he had asked Bella to marry him. I felt so guilty for drilling it into her head about waiting until after college to get married, but Bella was so much smarter and mature than I was at her age. I just had to let her know I was really happy for her.

"He does make you happy doesn't he?" I asked to make sure she really was sure about her feelings for Edward. When she said he does, there was no argument to be had. I had honestly wondered how long I would have to wait to hear this news. I could tell they really were in love. I knew that when they had visited me in Florida a few months ago.

"To be truthful, Bella, when you both came to see me in Florida a few months ago, I thought it was to tell me then that you were getting married." Bella, just looked at me with pure shock on her face. "W-what? You were waiting for the news then?" Bella asked.

"Oh, honey, I am not blind, and I could tell by the e-mails you sent me about him that you both were very much in love. I just wasn't one hundred percent sure until you came to Florida. When I saw the way the two of you were together then, I knew it was very clear you felt the same way as Phil and I do about each other." I could see that it took Bella a minute to let that sink in, and then she let out a huge sigh.

"Well, don't I just feel so silly now. I worried about this for nothing!" she said in a flustered tone. "No, Bella, not for nothing. If I hadn't put the idea in your head that it was a very stupid thing to get married so young, you would have had no reason to be afraid to tell me." I had to ease the stress off her somehow. "Renee, I know you only had Bella's best interest in mind, so I told Bella that she might be surprised at how well you would take this news. I am happy to see I was right. I am pleased that you are happy for us." Edward was just so polite and full of great insight. I couldn't be happier that Bella chose to marry him now. I don't think there would be anyone else so polite, so sweet, and so handsome as Edward is. If I had to hand pick someone to marry Bella, I would have honestly chosen Edward for Bella. You can tell they belong together. A perfect fit for one another, honestly.

We must have sat at the restaurant for three hours just talking and going on about wedding details. Edward had gotten a call from Alice, and had asked her if it was alright for me to have some input on the wedding. I was happy that Alice was actually insisting on some input from me. What a remarkable family Bella was marrying in to. I was so happy to know that Bella would be well taken care of for the rest of her life. She had taken care of me for so long, then to cook for Charlie and take care of him for the last two years, she really did deserve to be taken care of for a change. Granted the time that Edward had broken Bella's heart and spirit last year, but he redeemed himself by this act of love. I guess I could see why he needed to break up with her, but he should have chosen a better way to do it. I guess he needed to be sure this is what he wanted and needed.

After his return, and Bella had become so much better, I could tell that being apart hurt him as much as it hurt her, so I was pleased he righted the wrong. I did let Edward know that I was not happy with him when he broke Bella's heart when they came to Florida, but like I said, he made it known that he retreated doing it. So many positives have happened since he returned to her. I never thought that Bella would every apply to an Ivy League school, and here she got accepted into Dartmouth.

Edward's father, Carlisle, said that he would have no problems helping pay for her to attend as well. The generosity of the family seems to never end, and I could have a peaceful mind knowing that Bella would be very well looked after with Edward and his family. Phil cleared his throat just then, "I do apologize, but we must be going. I have practice early in the morning, so I should get back to our hotel so I can get some sleep. Bella, Edward, you are more than welcome to come to the game as special guests. While I am practicing, how about Edward join me, and the two of you can have a girl's day." I loved how accepting Phil was of Edward, and I was so unsure how they would accept this invitation. I knew Bella hated shopping, so I had to come up with something fun for us to do. "We would love to." Edward said after looking at Bella. I was pleased they both agreed.

(Bella POV)

Edward won over Phil and my mother easily, and for this I was glad. I could see that both my families would get along just fine.

While we were having a girl's day out, I could prepare my mother for Charlie's new voice. I had to explain that after throwing up so much from the food poisoning his throat suffered permeate damage, so he no longer sounded the same, and his eating habits had changes as well.

"Well, if I had a bad case of food poisoning like he did, I would change my eating habits, too." she said with a thoughtful tone.

"I am glad he is doing better though. It must have been hard to leave him this weekend." she continued.

"Well, I have Carlisle to thank for this break. He offered to care for him while we are away." My mom seemed thrilled that I was surrounded by such positive people now. I know she worried about me in Phoenix not having many friends, but I had found a good group of friends in Forks so she didn't worry too much about my social life. The time seemed to fly by during our visit with them.

All too soon, Phil and my mom had to head off to another town, and Edward and I spent the last day we had there at the Cranbrook Institute of Science and Art Museum in Detroit, and then back to the airport to head back home.

The flight back was a bit like the flight there, except I was no longer worried about how my mother would handle the engagement news. Now I was worried if the changes in Charlie would startle her even thought I prepared her for a few changes.

I sighed after we took off, and closed my eyes to think. I must have been very tired, because the next thing I know Edward is shaking my shoulder softly telling me we had landed in Seattle. We got to our feet, gathered our things from the overhead compartment, hit up baggage claim, and we were in the Volvo headed back to Forks. "What were you dreaming about on the plane?" Edward asked in a soft tone.

"Please tell me I didn't talk too much in my sleep." I groaned. "No, not much, and not very loud. I was the only one who really heard you. You said something about your mother being in for a shock when she sees Charlie." I looked at him, horrified, then gained my composure. "The last time my mom saw Charlie was last year. I am sure the small changes might be enough to freak her out." I said with worry in my voice. Edward took my hand in his, kissed it, and held on to it rubbing small circles on the back of my hand.

"Bella, I am sure she will be fine. If you would like, I can have Alice keep your mother away from Charlie as much as possible." I looked at him for a brief moment, half way considering it, but shook my head after a moment. "No, I don't know if that would be a good idea or not. I guess we will have to just see how things play out." He smiled my crooked smile, and soon we pulled in front of the house.

Charlie was outside with Emmett talking about baseball of all things. They were discussing batting averages for some player, and only looked up for a second to welcome us home. Both could see I was exhausted, and was in no mood to talk about the trip. Alice flittered to my side soon after I walked in the door.

"Uhhh, Bella, you look like a mess! Let's get you upstairs, showered, and off to bed. You need your rest! I only have just a few months to get everything perfect!" I was so happy that Alice was happy, and that she insisted I get some sleep. The huge bed in Edward's room was so inviting at this point in time that I honestly didn't care if I fell asleep with wet hair going in every direction possible. I knew that the coming months would be pure hell on me, but it was all going to be worth it in the end. With that thought in mind, I had no problems drifting off to a dreamless sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9:

(Alice POV)

"Morning sleepy head! It's time to get up and get some breakfast!" I can't believe she just threw the covers over her head again.

"Aaaliccce, it's toooo early! Please, let me sleep just another hour." Bella whined at me from under the covers trying to sound the appropriate tone of exhausted.

"Bella, it's already 9:30. I already knew that if I woke you up at 8:30, you wouldn't get out of bed until now, so up you go!" Did she really think that I would not see that she would be difficult today? Just because we no longer have high school to worry about does not mean that a schedule isn't required for wedding preparations.

"Bella, I know you are doing this because you know that we start preparing for the wedding today, so suck it up! We have your first fitting today, I have to get my dress going, Rose's dress going, and tuxedos to get taken care of. Not to mention we need to go over the guest list and the menu for all the humans that will be attending." Bella sat up, and actually glared at me.

"Alice, you don't sleep so you have all the time you need for this." Oh, so she was going to be like that now, well, I have the perfect counter for that retort.

"Yes, but YOU sleep, and I NEED YOUR body for the dress fittings, and YOUR feet for the shoes. You have to wear the shoes for the perfect hem line in the dress otherwise it will be off." I knew she just needed some time to wake up, so Edward was at the door in a second.

"Bella, love, Esme made you an amazing breakfast. She made you a cheese omelet, toast, and poured some orange juice in a glass for you. I think it would hurt her feelings if you let it go to waste." Bella glared at the both of us for a second, pouted, then grumbled about not fair as she rolled out of bed.

"Perfect. I will be waiting downstairs for you." I was excited for my new sister to get a move on so we could do the fun things in preparation for the best wedding the town of Forks will ever know. Bella was dressed in her usual frumpy clothes, but suddenly smiled as she took in a whiff of the food Esme made for her. She put a little jump in her step, grabbed her plate and a fork, and sat at the table as she took a bite. She managed to squeeze in a complement to Esme before she took her second bite.

"Esme, this is amazing. You are such a good cook for someone who doesn't eat human food." then Bella started to look a little more enthused about our day today. After she finished, she went to the sink to wash her dishes. "Oh Bella, I will get that dear. You and Alice have so much to do." Esme chimed in.

"Thanks Esme. Well, I guess I am off for a day of torture. I love you, Edward. I love you, Dad." Bella gave each a kiss. Charlie on his head, and of course Edward had to dazzle Bella with his lips again. I started to stamp my foot as I waited by the door. "Okay, okay, you can kiss her as long as you want when we get back. We have some serious work to do!"

(Bella POV)

There were times I seriously hated the fact that Alice could see the future. Today was one of them. I knew no matter how hard I tired, there was not getting out of today's errands. Even though Alice could already tell me what shoes, how high of a heel, how much hem was needed, she and Edward both agreed that this is one human experience that I needed to be involved with as much as possible.

"It is necessary that you are like all the other human brides, Bella. It would not look right if I just told the alterations place what measurements to make the dress, and how long or short the hem needed to be. That wouldn't give us away at all." Alice pointed out in a sarcastic tone. I sighed as I got dressed, and brushed my hair and teeth. I did start to feel better once I smelled the amazing aroma of the breakfast Esme had cooked for me. It really was delicious, and it did make me feel a little less overwhelmed with todays to do list.

After I ate, I kissed Charlie on the head, and then kissed Edward. It was as if Edward couldn't help himself get a little even with Alice for waking me up the way she did, and having him side with her, so he let his kiss linger a lot longer than she wanted. I was grateful that he did this, and it was as if he could read my mind, because he held me closer and a bit tighter as Alice stamped her foot at the door. She finally came over, grabbed my arm, and dragged me off telling Edward he could kiss me as long as he wanted after we got back. Charlie let out a chuckle as we headed out the door.

"Edward, I gotta hand it to ya. You sure know how to get under your sister's skin." Alice let out a small growl towards Edward as he laughed lightly.

We got into Alice's Porsche and we were off to Olympia for a few hours. Normally Alice did all the alterations to the clothes herself, but with the tight deadline, and the number of tuxedos and dresses needed, she had no choice but to allow outside help. Olympia was the only location for this top of the line seamstress that never messed up any order no matter how short the notice was.

We hit up this formal attire store that sold bridal shoes first. She picked out four pairs of shoes, had me try them on, and then picked a fifth pair. I tried them on, and she smiled brightly. "Those are the ones! They will go with the dress perfectly, and it will make the hem a better length." She said in a voice of satisfaction.

So the seamstress shop was the next stop. I got into a dressing room, put my ridiculously high high heels on, and Alice helped me into the dress. Then this elderly woman came into the room, with a tape measure around her neck like a scarf, and hmmmed and huhhhed. "Turn slowly please, dear." She said in a sweet voice. "Ahhhh. Okay, so I think we take the hem up by an inch and a half, take in the shoulders by three quarters of an inch, and add the train you designed and this will be absolutely perfect." She said to Alice.

"Okay, great! Thank you Joyce. You are a gem for doing this." She smiled at me, and then handed Joyce $100. "It will be done by the deadline I assure you. Thank you for coming in Alice." she said as we left.

Two places down and I have no idea how many more to go. "We need to go to the stationary place next to order the invitations, napkins, plates, and thank you cards." Alice said noticing the look on my face.

"Can't you just handle all that? I trust you completely with this part Alice." She turned the power of her pout on me, and I was helpless against it.

"Fine! But I am only going to tell you what font I like, and how I would like the names to appear. That is it!"

"Yea! Thanks Bella!" It was just all too easy to please Alice sometimes. Too bad the same couldn't be said about me right now. What I really wanted right now was to be at home relaxing or doing laundry. Maybe read a book or two if I wanted.

We walked into this store, and Alice concentrated for a second, grabbed a binder at random it seemed, and flipped to a page. "How about this style Bella?" she asked as if I needed to give her the thumbs up on the design.

"It works for me." giving her a simple answer was enough for me.

"Okay, now, here are the fonts I like the most with this style of invitation." she said to me again.

"I really think we should have Edward's opinion on this as well Alice."

"Good idea, Bella. I will send him pictures of the style invitation and the fonts I think would look nice as well." No sooner had she sent the pictures, her phone rang. "Hi Edwards. Yes, it really is a nice style isn't it. The third font on the page? Hold on, let me ask Bella. Hey Bella, Edward wants to know if you like the third style of font?"

I took a look at it, and found that it was a very pretty style. It really looked elegant, and if I was being honest with myself, I would have loved to have had that font style on my graduation announcements if I had ordered any. "I love it Alice. Really and honestly I do love it." I turned an apprising smile to her to show her I really meant it.

"Edward, Bella loves that style font! No, she really does! Yes, I think the same for the thank you notes is very appropriate as well. Okay, see you soon. Bye." she hung up her phone, and we were off to place the order. The guy behind the counter asked the typical questions of what style, how soon, how many, etc. He told us the total cost of the stationary, and was surprised that we didn't bat an eye at the amount. Alice handed over the black credit card and we left with a smile on our faces. I gotta say, I was actually having some fun watching the cashiers faces at the many places we hit up when we didn't look the least bit worried over cost. After two other stores, we stopped so I could get some lunch. Edward would not approve if Alice didn't make me eat lunch on our day trip.

As a favor to my mother, Alice sent her several pictures of what all we had ordered, bought, and planned to buy. My mother loved everything, and then they talked about her dress. Alice had overnighted the dress to my mother in Florida to try on, and send pictures back to Alice via e-mail for her to see what might need to be done with it, if anything. I had received a call from her the day the dress arrived, as she wondered if it was a mistake. I told her that if Alice sent it, there was no mistakes. She has this fashion sense that I just don't understand, so I assured her it really was meant for her.

"Okay. I just didn't want to end up with someone else's Vera Wang dress." she said casually. I choked and coughed for second, then quickly recovered.

"Bella, are you okay?" concern in her voice was very apparent. "Yeah, I am fine. I think a crumb hit the back of my throat just right." I lied.

"Well, the only thing that needs to be done to the dress is to add shoes and a clutch." Alice said to my mother on the phone. I will give Alice this much, she knew just how to make my mother feel like a super model or something.

After lunch, we hit up the floral shop. I was shocked to see the different styles of bouquets they had for the bride to hold onto. There was one that caught Alice's eye, and called me over to take a look at it. "What do you think?" she asked as if she didn't already know. "It's breathless. I think it's perfect for me." As I looked over it some more the woman behind the counter was shocked that I had chosen such an old fashioned style.

"Miss are you sure that is the style you want? I generally do this style for elderly couples who find another chance at love in their sixties or seventies." she said trying to sway me from my decision.

"Well, you see, Ma 'me, my wedding is themed around my ring." I raised my hand to show her the antique sitting on my left hand. "My fiancé has had this ring in his family for generations, and it was his late mother's desire that he give it to the woman he plans on spending the rest of his life with, so, I felt that we should honor not only his mother, but his grandmother and great grandmother as well. It has been in his family since the 1890s." I said batting my eyes at her. Alice was shocked that I was willing to put on such an act to keep the woman from trying to change my mind.

"Well, when you put it like that, how can I not honor such a touching gesture to your fiancé's family heirloom." Alice seemed pleased with me after that, so she brought me back home. She decided that I had played my part well enough that I need not be tortured anymore until my next fitting.

She grabbed Rosalie and headed for her room to see what adjustments needed to be done to their dresses, and then ordered the guys to stand in line outside her door for their tuxedo fittings. I laughed since the only one who was complaining was none other than Charlie. I found it amusing that he complained since it was he who enjoyed seeing Alice demand my presence earlier today.

As the weeks past, and everything was in order, things started arriving at the Cullen's house in time for preparations. Charlie was back on duty with the station, and living back at the house, so I was sent home for the night after my final fitting and practice walking in my ridiculously high high heels. "Go home, and get some sleep. That is an order. You need to be fresh in the morning." Alice ordered me. I sighed, and took off the shoes. I hugged her, and told her I would see her in the morning.

Like usual, Edward stopped by as I was packing the last box in my room. Noting the time on the clock, 10:30 p.m., we weren't breaking the tradition of the groom not seeing the bride the day of until she walked down the aisle. He stopped by on his way to his bachelor party. He wanted to tell me something serious from the looks of things. "I am just looking for cold feet." he said unsure of what to really say.

"Mine are toasty warm." I said smiling to him. "It's not too late you know." he sounded conflicted. "What, now you are having second thoughts?" No answer. "You are!" That registered in his head as he shook it from side to side. "No, I just haven't told you everything about me yet." I laughed a small laugh, looked into his golden eyes, and smiled, "What, you're not a virgin after all?" He scoffed for a second, then turned a serious face to me.

"No, Bella, I wanted to tell you that after the first few years Carlisle changed me, I rebelled against him, angry with him for stiffening my thirst. I wanted to know how it felt to truly hunt. To hunt humans, and not animals. All the men I killed were monsters. Rapists, Murderers, muggers. I killed them all. But as I looked in their eyes as they died, I saw what I was, a monster as well. I didn't like that feeling, so I stopped, and returned to Carlisle and Esme like the prodigal son." He sat there silent for a minute.

"Why did you tell me this tonight of all nights? Did you really think it would change my mind about you, Edward?" hurt colored my voice.

"No. I have been waiting a century to marry you, Miss Swan. I just thought it might change your mind about you. I saw what I was capable of, and what..." he broke off as I finished for him. "And what I will be capable of." he looked at me with sorrow in his eyes.

"Edward, let me tell you something. I know that I will be able to look in the mirror a year from now and like what I see because I know I can do this. Look at Charlie! Look how well he did, and he hasn't had the preparations I have been given. I hope I am just like you. Someone capable of sacrifice, generosity, and love. You really should give yourself some credit for what you have done. Those men you killed were all murderers, and you probably saved more lives than you took." I said to comfort him.

"I hope you are right, Bella." I suddenly heard the rustling of leaves outside, and then Emmett was at my window. "Let him out Bella, or we are coming in after him." he chuckled. What is going on, Edward?" I asked. He smiled my crooked smile.

"I am late for my bachelor party." I nodded. "So, this party, will there be strippers and nasty things like that?" I asked "Boring!" Emmett shouted from the front yard. "No, just some mountain lions, deer, and maybe some bears. Stuff like that." Edward assured me.

Jasper was in the window this time. "Don't worry Bella, we will have him back in plenty of time." I sighed. "Okay, go on before they break my house."

"Hey Charlie, get out here! You are required to come as well." Emmett hollered out to him. "Okay, okay. Give me a second." I heard him call back out to them. Just then a knock came at the door. I opened it, and Charlie of course was not surprised to see Edward here.

"Um, Bells, you gonna be okay if I go out with the boys for this?" he asked. "Yeah, Dad. You go, hunt, get that thirst under control. Going to be around a lot of humans tomorrow. Sue will also be there, ya'know." "Yeah, I know. I will see you when we get back. Night Bells." Night Dad."


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10:

(Bella POV)

I was so happy walking down the aisle, keeping my eyes on Edward as I smiled at him. All my friends and family were there, and I was pleased that Sue Clearwater was actually sitting next to Charlie. As I took Edward's arm and faced the spot the minister was supposed to be standing, there were all three ancients from the Volturi. Marcus, Aro, and Caius. I feared for my human family and friends, but when I looked up at Edward, his face was covered in blood. I turned to look at everyone, and they were piled on top of each other in a large pool of blood. There we stood, on top of the pile of corpses, my dress drenched in their blood, and Edward with a grim smile of satisfaction on his perfect face. I dropped my bouquet as I saw the blood stains on my hands.

I sat up in a hurry, glad to see that it was only a night mare. A really bad one at that. There was a note that was folded over on my pillow next to my head. The writing on top was Charlies, letting me know he came in to deliver this message, and that no traditions were broken. I unfolded the note and read the message Edward left me. In his elegant script he wrote to me: I can't wait to see you walk down the aisle and officially become Mrs. Cullen. I will meet you at the alter with a smile on my face. See you soon. Love, Edward. That helped get the scary images of the night mare out of my head, and preparing for a different night mare.

After Jacob had received our invitation he had taken off in wolf form and hadn't been heard from since. Well, more like hadn't been seen but no matter how much he wished he couldn't be heard from, the pack knew where he really was. He wasn't happy about the note Edward had included in the invitation I didn't want sent to him, and that was enough to send him over the edge of sanity. I knew it would have been very hard for him to have the invitation around, so I told Edward we could give Billy a verbal invite to the wedding.

Sam, although had some trust in the Cullens, was not to thrilled to have Seth there without Billy being around to make sure he was indeed safe, and that Sue was to accompany the both of them. I headed down the stairs to grab a bowl of cereal to eat before Alice became real impatient with me. She was already in the kitchen waiting for me when I got there.

"Ugh! Bella, look at yourself! You are a mess! What did I say about beauty sleep?! You look like hell, and now I am going to have to work twice as hard to make you perfect today." Alice grumbled. "Sorry, Alice. I had a bad dream last night that kept me up." I said in a low voice.

"Where's Charlie?" I asked as I poured the milk into the bowl. "He is with the guys getting last minute things such as picking up Angela and her father." she said in her beautiful bell tone.

I finished eating, washed my dishes, and threw myself into the arms of Alice to be her human Barbie doll. "Bella, I think that Charlie and Sue might hit it off in a relationship. It's hard to see because Sue is a blind spot, but I see Charlie very happy, and it's her face I see reflecting in his eyes." Alice said casually as we were winding though the drive to the house.

"Well, he did tell me that he felt the electric flow when he had touched Sue's hands after he was changed. I guess I can see if Jasmine has any insight on this. She is coming, right?" I asked with a hopeful look.

"She is coming, and... wait a sec...Oh! Wow, that makes some sense, and Leah will actually be happy to know this information after all." I looked at Alice curiosity clear on my face as we sat just outside the house.

"It seems that when Leah phased, she thought she was a genetic dead end because it was only the boys who phased carrying the burden their fathers did. It seems that Jasmine and Sue are distant and lost relatives, and since in Jasmine's tribe the women can phase they aren't a genetic dead end like Leah seems to think she is." Alice explained her vision.

It was a mystery to all of us as to why Alice could see Jasmine and not the Quileutes, but for whatever reason I was glad. I liked Jasmine, and was really glad that she was coming to the wedding. Alice whisked me up the stairs, and five minutes later Rosalie knocked on the door. "Alice, the guys are back, and they won't be crossing your path until it's time. Do you want some help? I could do her hair." I looked at Rosalie's perfect beautiful face in shock. "Really?" I managed to say.

She came to stand behind me, smiled in the mirror, and ever so sweetly spoke to me. "Please, Bella. I am not opposed to your choice in groom." Wow, Rosalie wanted to help out. "Oh, so just my blatant disrespect for my mortality?" She smiled again with a half chuckle. "Essentially, yes." she smiled at me again. Alice clasped her hands together with a wide grin.

"Weddings...they bring everyone together!" I could swear she was just squeaking at this point.

(Renee POV)

I was so excited to see the Cullen's beautiful home in person. Bella had sent me pictures, but this truly was breathtaking. Jasper had picked me and Phil up from the airport, and we had a wonderful time talking on the way here. I walked into the amazing home, and there on the stairs I saw Charlie in his tuxedo. He was looking more handsome than I remembered. A beautiful woman with long black hair joined him for a second. I could see the way they looked at each other, and I could tell that they were falling very much in love. I was glad to see that Charlie was with someone after all this time.

"Hey, Charlie. How have you been?" I asked in the most pleasant tone. "I am doing better now." he replied in an amazingly husky yet velvet like tone I have never heard before. Bella did say he sounded different since the violent vomiting damaged his throat and vocal cords.

"Renee, I would like to introduce you to Sue Clearwater. Sue, this is Bella's mother, Renee." The beautiful woman offered her hand for a handshake, and I gladly took it.

"It's very nice to meet you Sue. Charlie, Sue, this is my husband Phil." I offered in return the introduction to my husband, Bella's stepfather. "Nice to meet you Phil." they said at the same time.

"Phil, I hear you play ball. We should get together during the reception and talk a bit. It's nice to see Renee so happy after all these years. Good to see you are taking care of her, too." Charlie was being very polite to Phil, so much so, that I was somewhat unsure if he was honestly happy for me, but when I saw the two of them smiling, laughing, and getting along so well I put my suspicions to bed.

"Are those graduation caps?" Phil suddenly asked pointing to the large frame on the wall. "Yeah, the Cullen's have collected family graduation caps over the years. It's kind of a tribute to the family." Charlie explained. "Well if you look at it that way, it's actually kinda cool." Phil said in awe. "So, do you know where Bella is?" I asked. "Yeah, she is up the stairs and to the left." Charlie replied.

I knocked on the door, and Alice said to come on in, so I did. "Oh, Bella! You are so beautiful!" Tears started to well up in my eyes. "Crap! My mascara!" Suddenly Alice handed me a white handkerchief to wipe away the tears. "Oh, thank you Alice. You're a life saver. Bella, you look like you belong on the cover of a fashion magazine, and you aren't even in your dress yet."

Bella blushed a bit when I complemented her, but seriously Alice did such an amazing job with the makeup. "Charlie, now would be a good time to come in and take care of the early wedding gift we have for her." I hollered out to him.

"You look amazing, Bells. We wanted to give this to you. It was Grandma Swan's, so you have something old..." "We added the sapphires to give it the something blue." I rushed to say, not sure why I didn't let Charlie finish.

"It's beautiful! Thanks Mom, Dad. I love it." Alice cleared her throat, gave Charlie a stern look, and he retreated out of the room closing the door behind him. "It's time for the dress! Do you want to see it before Bella puts it on?" I was so excited I squealed. It was absolutely stunning. I couldn't wait to see it on Bella!

(Bella POV)

I was shocked to see the beautiful hair comb that use to be my Grandma Swan's. It was a sweet little family moment that I actually enjoyed. When Alice mentioned my dress, the nerves came back in full force. I was so worried I would trip and fall flat on my face. Just what I needed when pretty much the entire town of Forks was here in attendance, and me take a fall. I would be the laughing stock of Forks for years to come. I held my arms up as Alice slid the dress over my head, and fastened the back of the dress. "And now, we add the vail. There. So, Renee, what do you think now?" Alice asked my mom.

"Oh my! Bella, you are a stunning vision! Cindy Crawford, eat your heart out! My daughter is so beautiful! Alice, you are amazing! Bella, honey, the town will be talking about how stunningly breathtaking you are!" My mother said as she seemed out of breath.

"Okay, Renee, you need to get out there. Sue, Phil, you two as well. Scoot! Charlie, count to five, then follow me." Alice demanded. Once everyone was in their right places, Rosalie played the piano, Alice started to walk down the aisle.

"Don't let me fall Dad." I managed to say in a whisper. "I won't let that happen Bells. I promise."

The count of five was up, and we walked out the door, down the path, and then to the isle Alice made. When we turned the corner onto the isle, I looked up and there he was, standing at the altar. Edward was so handsome in his tuxedo. My heart rate sped up, and suddenly the music wasn't playing fast enough. Charlie squeezed my hand softly to remind me we had to do this at the usual human pace.

I never saw anyone in the chairs, not caring if eyes were on me or not, my eyes were focused on the Adonis God-like man waiting for me. When Charlie placed my hand in his, Mr. Weber, who was the minister we chose, asked, "Who gives this lovely woman to this man in marriage?"

Charlie smiled, "Her mother, stepfather, and I do." With that, Mr. Weber started out then it was our turn. We said the traditional vows, except at the end we asked that he change "til death do us part," to "as long as we both shall live."

As we exchanged vows and rings, I never acknowledged our guest. It was as if we were alone in paradise. I was only slightly aware of everyone when it was time for the kiss. I didn't want it to end, but I think after like five minutes, there were an echo of throats being cleared. After the final kiss, Mr. Weber cheerfully said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I present for the first time together, Mr. and Mrs. Edward Cullen!" Cheers and applause erupted, and then the celebration kicked off.

Charlie, Sue, Billy, Seth, and Jasmine were the first ones to come congratulate us on our nuptials. "I hope you will be very happy Bella." Billy said with a genuine smile. "I am so happy for you both man." Seth chimed in enthusiastically.

"Well, son, welcome to the family." Charlie said with a smile. "Congratulations to the both of you." Sue said. "Congratulations Edward, Bella. It was a beautiful wedding. Sue, the feelings you seem to be confused about are simple. If you phased like your daughter and son, it would be called imprinting. It seems that Charlie is your soul mate, because Charlie has an electric charge when he touches you." Jasmine said in a cheery tone.

I looked at both Charlie and Sue, as did Billy. Billy was somewhat upset by this news, but not completely. Billy huffed out a sigh, and turned to Sue. "I guess since the feeling of what would be imprinting has taken place, Sue, you are no longer in mourning. Charlie, if you hurt her, so help me there won't be enough around to help you out of the pain I will cause. So, my best friend, with that warning, Sue, Charlie, I am happy for you. Again, Bella, I hope you will be happy."

"Thank you, Billy. Have you heard from Jake?" He grimaced a bit, then looked up at me. "I am sure Jacob wishes you the best." We both were worried about him, and he knew I would continue to worry no matter what direction my life takes me.

Renee and Phil were next. Phil stopped Charlie before he headed to the dance floor. "Thank you, Charlie, for including me in giving Bella away. That was a very nice and unexpected. I am touched, truly."

"Well Phil, I figure it's better to include all parents no matter what." Charlie replied with a warm smile.

"Bella, you are a vision. Congratulations both of you." Phil said shaking Edward's hand and hugging me. "Edward, please take care of my baby. I am so happy for you both. I love you both. Welcome to the family, son." My mom said in-between sobs of joy as she hugged us both. She and Phil made a dash for the champagne then to their table so they could set their drinks down.

"Bella, welcome to the family." a beautiful pale but olive skinned woman said to me. "Carmen and Eleazar, right?" I was certain I had it correct. "Yes. Welcome to the family Bella." Eleazar answered.

"Edward, congratulations. Your Bella is very stunning I have to say." I was shocked when the supermodel perfect smile flashed to me in a friendly welcoming way. "Thank you, Tanya." Edward said.

"It's nice to have a fresh face in the family. Congratulations to you both." This beautiful woman had amazingly long straight blonde hair, down to her waist.

"Thank you, Kate. We appreciate you all coming." Edward said. Kate was looking over at another tall blonde woman, shame came to her face as she saw the look on her face.

"Irena, come meet Bella." she encouraged. Just then she walked over, leaned in a bit then spoke with such venom in her voice. "I can't do this! They invited one! They killed my Laurent!"

Edward shifted me closer to him, cleared his throat then spoke. "Irena, I am sorry about your pain, but he was going to kill Bella, and they did the honorable thing by protecting her. He is our friend, and we will not ask him to leave."

"I don't believe that he was after HER! He wanted to learn to live with the humans, hunting animals, and to be with me!" The venom in her voice was more clear this time, and aimed at me no less. "Well, I am sorry anyway Irena." She turned and stormed off.

"We are so sorry and embarrassed for and by her actions. Please forgive us." Tanya said with sorrow and sincerity. "Let's not monopolize the bride, shall we." Eleazar said as he moved them off to the side. After the long line of congratulations stopped, we finally got our chance on the dance floor. In the middle of our second dance, Edward stopped.

He smiled my crooked smile, then said in his velvety voice, "Another one of your wedding gifts just arrived. Come on, I will take you to it." He led me behind the house, and I looked up at him in confusion.

"What's a wedding present doing way out here?" He smiled again, "It's just a little more private." He looked into the dark forest then spoke again.

"This is very kind of you." Just as I was about to ask who he was talking to, Jacob come out into the open.

"The best man didn't have time to get a tux...and kind is my middle name. Hey Bells. Sorry I am late." I stood there shocked, then rushed out. "Jacob! Oh, Jacob! It's all complete now!" I ran to him, giving him a hug. "I am going to see if Rosalie wants to dance. I know she will never let me hear the end of it if I don't dance with her." Edward said, giving me and Jacob some privacy.

"Dance with me?" Jacob asked. I nodded as he put his arm around my waist, and my arm on his shoulder, taking my other hand in his other one. We danced for a few seconds before I could speak again. "Where have you been? We were getting ready to put your face on a milk carton." I muffled into his shirt.

"Northern Canada, I think. I am a bit out of practice with the whole human thing. It's strange being on two legs, wearing clothes, and all." he chuckled in my ear. I was so happy to have him back, but I was a little worried.

"Are you okay, you know, being here right now?" He stopped and looked into my eyes, "Afraid I might trash your party?" he said teasingly but accusingly at the same time. Then he looked into the forest where there were the sounds of someone or something in the brush. "Looks like you aren't the only one." He noted out loud.

We started dancing again. Then we stopped again. "This is just how I am going to remember you. Pink rosy cheeks, two left feet, heart beat..."

"Cause what, soon I will be dead to you?!" I asked hurt clear in my thick throat. We made a circle again, then he sighed. "I'm sorry. I am just trying to appreciate your last night as human." Understanding came to me.

"It's not my last night, Jake."

"But I thought you..." I nodded. "I really didn't want to spend my honeymoon writhing in severe pain." He let out a scoffed.

"What's the point Bells? It's not like you can have a REAL honeymoon anyway." he said flatly. I stopped our dance just then, looking at him like he had just told me he burned my house down.

"Jake, it's going to be as real as anyone else's! And it's none of your business anymore anyway!" Horror came over his face.

"What while you are still human?! Tell me you are not that STUPID Bella!" Just then he grabbed both my arms just above the elbows and shook me like a child needing disciplined.

"JAKE LET ME GO!" I shouted. Just then Edward was at my side, moving me slightly behind him.

"Jacob, you need to calm down." Edward said in a calm but threatening tone.

"You will kill her Edward! And when you do, I will be here to kill you!" Jacob snarled back at him.

Just then Seth rushed past us, and jumped on Jacob's back. "Just walk away Jake! Leave now and calm down!" Seth yelled, but Jacob just flung Seth to the ground as he charged us.

Sam, Paul, Embry, Quil, and Jared ran out of the forest and restrained Jacob. "That's enough Jacob!" Sam yelled. "Stay the hell out of this Sam! He will KILL her!" Jacob spit angrily at Sam.

Sam looked at us, apologetically, then the Alpha tone come out of him. "She is not our concern anymore! Bella has made an educated decision about her life, and the least we can do is honor it!" Embry and Quil grabbed Jacob's arms and hauled him back into the forest.

"Let's go Seth! Jacob has made a mess, and we need to have a meeting now." Sam ordered. Seth looked back at us, clearly upset that he had to leave the celebration and sorry for the trouble his tribal and pack brother had done.

Edward put his hand on the small of my back to lead me back to the party. "Come on, people are probably missing us." I nodded. "Edward, I am so sorry. I feel really stupid right now for telling him." He held me closer with a sideways hug.

"He figures that with you being completely human you will be killed unlike Jasmine's mother." Just then we heard rustling in the near forest. "I was beginning to think I was going to have to pull out the Chief in me to settle the little dispute with Jake." Charlie said noticing our stress for a second. "Don't worry Bells, I know things will be just fine."

The rest of the night we spent doing the traditional things you do at weddings. We cut the cake, did the drink thing, and then we had the toasts. I could have killed Emmett for the no sleep comment he made.

After all that, I got to toss the bouquet. Surprisingly it landed in Angel's hands without her jumping for it. Edward flung the garter and it hit Mike Newton in the face. We all had a laugh at that, then Alice dragged me upstairs to change into my honeymoon dress.

As Edward and I stood at the doorway of the house, all our family and friends were waiting in a line that led to the car ready to throw rice at us as we left. At the end of the line, my mother and Phil were waiting to see us off.

I hugged my mother as she started to cry again. "I love you Bella, so much! Be safe, wear sunscreen, wear a hat, and have fun." she managed before she started into a full cry. Phil opened his arms up for a hug. "Thank you Phil, for coming and taking care of my mother. I love you as well." I said.

"I love you too, Bella. More than you think. You and Edward are always welcome to visit us anytime you want. Take care and have fun." he said as he kissed the top of my head.

Charlie was waiting closest to the car. I walked up, and smiled. "It's going to be odd you not living under my roof. You do know it will always be your home, right?"

"It's going to be strange for me too, Dad. And thank you. You will always be welcome to the Cullen house anytime Dad. I am sure you are welcome to go hunting with them any time." I said.

We hugged a few minutes, then Alice broke in politely. "Everything is packed and ready to go."

"Okay. Thanks, Alice." I smiled at her. "Go on, you don't want to miss your plane. Have fun, and be careful." he said with a sad look on his face. I am sure that if he could cry, he would be right now.

Edward led me to the car, opened and closed my door for me, then go in himself. I fastened my seat belt, and as he started the car, he turned to me. "Are you ready, Mrs. Cullen?" I took a deep breath, let it out slowly, then smiled. "I am ready." As we pulled away from the house our family and friends waved to us, then as we hit the blackness of the highway, we both heard a pain filled mournful howl of a wolf in the woods. Neither one of us commented on it, but we both knew that it was Jacob's cry as we headed off to the airport.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11:

(Bella POV)

I was excited to see where Edward was taking me on our honeymoon. I was confused when we landed in Houston, Texas. It's not like we would be able to go out during the day, not that I really had a problem with that. "Just a stop along the way, my love." he said as we headed for another gate. We got to the international gates, giving me some idea that we weren't staying in the country. He led me to the gate we needed. The monitor stated the destination was Rio.

When we landed, we got into a taxi then my nerves kicked in as I could picture us in some amazing hotel suite. Imagine my surprise when we were dropped off at a marina with tons of yachts and other large boats. We walked to the very end, and Edward got onto a smaller but still as luxurious boat. It was a speed boat that much I knew, but I was still confused. "Okay, so we are not staying in Rio either?" He laughed a soft laugh. "Nope, we are just passing though."

We headed off into open waters, and I was starting to wonder if he thought that a speed boat was a romantic idea. As we neared something in the distance, Edward pointed to it. "See that?" he asked as he pointed off to the right a bit. "Yeah. It looks like land maybe." I said straining to see it for sure in the dark of night. "That is land. It's Isle Esme. Carlisle got it for her as present. It's now a gift for us to use on our honeymoon."

He slowed as he went around part of the island to get to the dock that was there. The beach looked pale white in the moonlight. I could see the charming house with all the lights on inside, sitting just on the edge of the light beach. As we walked up the pathway to the house, Edward told me we had the island to ourselves. "I had the caretakers stock up the kitchen with plenty of food so you won't go hungry, and asked that they leave the lights on for us." he explained when I was about to point out the lights.

We reached the door, and I was about to go inside when Edward swept me up into his arms, and carried me in. "Is this totally necessary?" I asked as I giggled. "I am nothing if not traditional." He said kissing my nose. "Thresh holds are a part of the job you know." he continued as he set me on my feet again. "You can look around if you want to while I get our luggage." he told me. I took him up on that offer.

The house reminded me of their home in Forks with all the glass walls. The living room was spacious and open to the kitchen. There were two bedrooms down the hall. One had pale blue walls, the other was white with a very large king sized bed in the middle that had mosquito netting around it. There was a sliding glass door that opened up onto the beach. There was a door that led to the humongous bathroom as well. It seemed to be the size of my bedroom at Charlie's house, maybe bigger. All in all, it was such a breathtaking place to spend our honeymoon. Edward came in and set our luggage down, and came over to me. He put his arms around my waist, and kissed me ever so softly.

"Are you tired?" I shook my head. "Do you want to go for a swim? The water is really warm, and it might feel good after being on the plane for so long." he said. I nodded since that did sound like a nice idea. "I could use a few human minutes." I said looking into his golden eyes. "Don't take too long, Mrs. Cullen." he said kissing me again before walking out the sliding door.

I grabbed my toiletries bag, and started on my hair. I ran the brush through my somewhat tangled hair, then I rinsed my hands off to get rid of the sticky sweat feeling. That felt so good that I decided to get out of my dress, and take a quick shower. While doing that, the thought of doing a touch up shaving job on my legs couldn't hurt either. I brushed my teeth after I got out of the shower.

I went back into the room to go through the suitcase looking for a swimming suit, but found skimpy lingerie instead. I started to panic, and sat on the floor rocking myself back and forth. I collected myself, and told myself to stop being such a coward, and go out there. I got up off the floor, and walked onto the beach still wrapped in my towel. The sand felt like velvet under my feet. I had no idea sand could feel so soothing like this. I stopped at a small tree where Edward had hung his shirt so I took off my towel, and hung it next to his shirt. I then walked to the water's edge. As the water came up over my feet I was shocked to feel just how warm the water was. It was like getting into a giant bathtub.

I walked down into the water where Edward was, apparently looking up at the moon. I looked up at it too. "It's a beautiful night sky." I said softly. "That may be, but I am next to someone more beautiful than that. You are so incredibly beautiful, and I am not only proud but honored that you are mine." I turned to face him, I smiled, then his lips were on mine, parting them, moving together in perfect harmony. "I said that we would try, Bella, but if this doesn't work..." "Hey, I trust you. I know we will find a way where I won't be harmed." I assured him. He then picked me up, carried me into the house, and laid me softly on the bed.

...time skip...

At some point I realized it was late morning since the sun was beating down on me through the glass. I thought, at first, last night was the best dream I have ever had, but as my eyes adjusted to I saw that feathers were floating in the air, and tangled in my hair. I could feel Edward next to me breathing softly. "Edward, why am I covered in feathers?" I asked with thickness in my throat from being so sleepy. "I bit a pillow or two." he sounded off a bit. "Oh, why did you do that?" I asked, hoping he would sound more upbeat this time. "To keep from biting you. How badly are you hurt Bella?" I had to think about that for a second. "What?" I asked totally confused by his question. "Look at yourself in the mirror." he said flatly.

I got up, and walked to the mirror. I saw the tangled mess of feathers in my hair, and laughed. "What could possibly be so funny?" again in a cold tone. "I look like a chicken lost a battle on my head." I said lightly.

He came up behind me and showed me the dark purple bruises on my arms and shoulders. I didn't even know that they were there until he pointed them out. They didn't even hurt if I was being honest with not just him, but myself. "Edward, they don't even hurt. About the only thing that hurts are the muscles I didn't realize I used last night." I told him in the most comforting voice I could muster up. "Don't down play anything, please, Bella." he said completely disgusted with himself. "No, Edward. You don't! Don't tell me that you think I am down playing anything here! My arms hurt, yes, but not from the so called bruises. My muscles are a bit sore. It's no worse than getting a good workout at a gym. So don't! Don't you dare ruin this moment for me Edward Anthony Mason Cullen! I am perfectly fine, and you are not going to sit around feeling sorry for something that doesn't even hurt! We are on our honeymoon, and damn it, you will get into a better mood or so help me I will give you a reason to feel sorry!" I spat at him with such venom.

I had no idea I was capable of such strong feelings like that. He sat staring at me blankly and in shock that I actually used a very harsh tone. "Look, we knew this would be tricky, right." I was calmer now.

"I think we did amazingly well. It was like no other feeling in the world for me. I know it's different for you, but as a human, I don't know if there is anything better feeling than last night." He was quiet for a second. "Are you worried that I didn't enjoy myself?" he said scoffing. "Last night was the best night of my entire existence, Bella." he continued. "Then, I don't see a problem here. I am not down playing anything. I feel like I got a nice workout from a gym, so a tiny bit of soreness is expected, but other than that I feel like I am on cloud 9. Or at least I was until you started in on your broody mood of shame. Now I am kinda pissed off actually."

Just then, my stomach growled with hunger. "Well, let me make it up to you with breakfast first, then we will do some activities, and maybe after dinner, we can try again. Do we have a deal?" he asked with my favorite crooked smile. I smiled back at him, then sighed. "Yeah, we got a deal, but I swear if you are trying to purposely tire me out so I am to exhausted to try again, I will not be the most pleasant person to be around." I shot a warning glance at him as I grabbed an outfit to wear for the day. "No tricks. I promise." he said holding his hands up in front of him like he was surrendering as he went into the kitchen.

As I was getting dressed the aroma of eggs wafted down the hall. It smelled so good I couldn't wait to take a bite. "Mmmmm, that smells so delicious. What kind of omelet did you make me?" I said eyeing the plate he was handing me. "Um, ham and cheese." he said pleased I was happy again. I took a bite, and it was like my eyes rolled into the back of my head it tasted so good. "You are an incredible cook for someone who doesn't eat." I said around another bite. "I watch the food network." I finished the omelet, and a glass of orange juice then he took my plate, fork, and glass to wash them up.

"So, what are we doing today?" I asked with some enthusiasm. "I thought we could explore the jungle a bit. There are some pretty parrots around here, and I thought you might like to see them." he said with my favorite crooked smile. "Sounds great." "Give me a sec Bella. I am going to pack a picnic lunch for you." He threw together an amazing looking sandwich, some potato salad, and a bottle of water in a picnic basket for me, and we headed out to tour the jungle.

I had to confess the scenery was something out of a movie about paradise. We finally got to a spot where there were several macaw parrots in very vibrant colors. The red ones were so bright, and the blue ones looked like sapphires. The green ones reminded me of emeralds and some of the ferns back in Forks. They were so beautiful, I thought I might have stepped into the pages of a book.

"Oh, Edward. They are beautiful." I said rather breathless. He took out a camera, and I stood underneath one of the trees. Just as he was getting ready to take a picture, he saw one of the bright red ones, fly off the branch and down towards me. "Hold very still Bella, and don't be afraid. He is going to land on your shoulder." Edward cautioned me. I held still and sure enough the beautiful bird landed ever so gently. Edward took the picture, and I slowly brought up my free arm, to softly stroke the feathers on his back. I was in complete and total awe.

After the parrot flew back into the tree, Edward spread out a blanket, and set up my lunch for me. "Told you there were some pretty parrots here. He said with a smirk." I laughed. "You weren't kidding at all. Thank you so much for showing me them. I have never thought I could be so close to the wild macaws. This was simply amazing!"

I took a bite of my sandwich and that too, was amazing. After I ate my lunch, we went a bit further and saw more parrots then Edward looked up at the sky. "I guess we should be heading back, that way I can make you dinner." I agreed, and followed his lead once again. By the time we got back I was starting to get hungry again. "The walk defiantly worked off lunch." I said staring into the refrigerator. "How about I make you some stuffed peppers?" Edward asked. "Ooh, that sounds good. Thank you, Edward" I said as I went to sit on the couch to read a book.

While the peppers were in the oven, he came to join me. "Bella, I have been thinking." Oh no, please tell me he seriously wasn't thinking about backing out on our deal... I couldn't help but worry. "About what?" I tried to sound unconcerned. "About Dartmouth actually." Whew that was a bit of a relief. "What about it?" I could see him hesitate for a second or two, but then he looked into my eyes.

"You don't really have to go if you don't want to. I just prefer that you do, you know just to get some college in before you became immortal. You would be able to see the difference between human and vampire experiences with it if you got one semester in as human. I will leave it to you, because I was serious, I will not force you into anything you don't want." I put my book down, and took his face in my hands. "Edward, I love you. I appreciate your concerns about my human experiences, but right now I am not even sure I am ready to attend a semester of college. I want to be able to get used to being your wife first." I said, knowing I was giving him some satisfaction that I didn't mention my pending transformation.

Just then the timer went off, and my stuffed peppers were done. The smell of them filled the room, and I just couldn't wait to eat them. I had just finished dinner when Edward suggested a bath to get the stickiness of the sweat from the day's walk off of me. I gladly accepted since he was joining me in the tub. He was careful not to hit the bruises even though they weren't the things that were tender. We toweled off, and I kicked him out of the bathroom so I could put on a see through black mesh outfit Alice had packed for me. I came out, and much to my surprise, Edward's eyes were raking over me with lust in his eyes. "Remind me to thank Alice for packing your things." he said in a wanting tone. I walked over to the bed, and before I knew it Edward had me in his arms, kissing me with such desire. "A deal is a deal" he said sounding breathless.

...time skip...

The next morning came, and I was moving about like I did the day before, only this time my legs were a bit tender. We both knew it was from the excursion into the jungle, so there were no worries. When I got up and dressed, I walked into the kitchen where Edward was already making me breakfast. "How are you feeling this morning, Bella?" he asked with some concern in his tone, but nothing like yesterday. "My legs are a bit soar, but I am fine. The pillows survived." He let out a soft and short laugh.

"Wow, that really does smell good." I said apprising the pan full of scrambled eggs. "So, I thought that today we could go swimming and jumping off a waterfall in this nice area today." he said as he handed me a fork and my glass of juice.

"Hmm, sounds good to me. It's lucky I finally found the bikini Alice packed." I said before taking a bite. "We can come back for lunch since it's not that far from the house. After that if you want, we can play a game of chess. You know just have some down time." He was much more pleasant this morning than yesterday that is for certain.

"Or maybe if you don't want to play chess, we could play around in the bedroom" he said winking at me with a very naughty suggestive look in his eyes. "I told you it would become easier with practice." I told him with a smug smirk on my face. "Yes, you did." he grinned my crooked smile as he moved in to kiss me.

We got into our swimming suits after I ate, and I hopped onto his back as he took me to the waterfall. I was taken back by the beauty here too. He kept me on his back and then asked me if I was ready to jump in from the top of the fall. "Yeah, I guess so." I said a little nervous. He counted to three then jumped in. It was thrilling to be with him in this small piece of heaven on Earth. He swam about 50 feet from me, then swam back. We had so much fun just being together. There was no stress, no worries, and no fighting to deal with. Things were so easy here, I wasn't sure I would ever want to leave.

Apparently we lost track of time because we had to stop after my stomach growled so loud that if a human was sitting on the side of the natural pool under the fall, they would have heard it. "Time to get you back for some lunch." he said laughing. "Yeah, I guess so. It is so easy to forget about eating doing these activities." I said with pleasure. We got back to the house, and this time I made myself some lunch. I was craving egg sandwiches for lunch, and I was just in the mood to cook them myself. We sat on the couch and watched a movie from the large dvd library the Living room had. About ten minutes after the movie was over, I couldn't resist, I had to kiss Edward. Doing so caused us to lose control, and he swept me up bridal style and into the bedroom we went. We paused for me to eat dinner, and we picked back up where we left off.

(Edward POV)

I was so glad that Bella and I had come to a compromise, and that it was getting easier to be with her without hurting her. She accepted the activities I had thought of with pure excitement, too. She had told me while we were out by the fall that the point of a honeymoon besides the intimacy was to be with each other and have fun. Once the compromise had been made, I made it my goal not to let her down. Now, as she sleeps I have to leave her to go hunting. It kills me to have to leave her. I would not leave without letting her know where I was going. So I wrote her a note. I left it on the kitchen counter, then went back into the bedroom. I lingered over the bed for a few more minutes, then headed out to the boat to go to the main lands to hunt. The entire time I was gone I was worried she would wake up before I got back and thought I had left her. I remember the thoughts in Jacob Black's head, the visions I saw as he saw them when I left Bella before. How broken and sad I had left her. I could not bear to leave her knowing I had caused her so much pain. I knew I would not be out long, but it was still too long for me. I got to the main lands, and found a nice jungle far from human inhabitants, then let my senses take over. I heard a leopard about 50 yards to the right of me, so I stocked it, and made my move. Then I heard another one just another hundred yards further. I took down one more for good measures, then hurried back to the boat so I could get back to Bella. The sun would rise soon, so I needed to get back as quick as possible.

(Bella POV)

The dim light of early morning was shining in my eyes so I woke up. I went to the kitchen hoping to see Edward there preparing to make me some breakfast, but instead I found a note on the counter. It read: Bella, I have gone to the main lands to hunt. I am so sorry I have to leave you alone. I will be back before you wake up. I love you, Mrs. Cullen. Love, Edward. I muttered "You're late" under my breath, then hit up the fridge to find something to make for breakfast.

I had gone through all the eggs in the house by finishing them off yesterday, so I had to find something else to eat. I had made an off handed joke that this island was going to make me fat because my appetite was out of control here. I found some chicken, peanut butter, and a thing of yogurt, so I figured some fried chicken sounded good. I would eat the yogurt and some peanut butter to keep me from starving until the chicken was done. As I was cooking, Edward's phone started ringing. I would have thought he would have taken it with him, but then I remembered, my phone had gotten broken, and we were waiting until after we got back from the honeymoon to replace it. I saw that it was Alice who was calling.

"Hi, Alice. What's wrong?" I asked. "Where is Edward?" She sounded confused. "He went to the main land to hunt. He should be back very soon." I told her. "Oh, have him call me back as soon as he gets in. I really need to tell him something." she said sounding a bit too cheerful or sneaky. "Alright Alice, I will have him call you just as soon as he gets back."

"Okay, bye Bella." "Bye Alice." Okay, that was weird even for Alice, oh well, we will find out what she wanted soon enough I guess.

Finally, I was satisfied that the chicken was cooked all the way through, and didn't bother to wait until it was cool enough to handle. I was pretty hungry, so I wanted to eat right away. About half way through the drumstick I was eating I felt a sudden wave of nausea come over me. I double checked the chicken to make sure it really was cooked all the way through, and found that it was, but that wasn't enough to satisfy my stomach.

I had to run to the bathroom before I threw up all over the place. "Bella?" I heard Edward's concerned voice in the doorway of the bathroom. "Don't come in." I groaned. "You don't need to see this." I said as I flushed the toilet. He came in anyway, and was on his knees next to me as I sat on the toilet with the lid down. "In sickness and in health..." he reminded me.

"Damn rancid chicken. It must have gone bad without us realizing it." I said slowly making sure I wasn't going to throw up again.

"Oh, you need to call Alice. She said she had a question for you... whatever that is about." "Okay, I will call her really quick." He dialed her number and hit send.

"Alice, what did you need? Yeah, why? Well if you think that is necessary to do that, I am okay with it. Bye. Huh...that was odd even for Alice"

"Edward, could you please hand me my bag. I would like to brush my teeth." I said snapping him out of a daze-like thought. He handed me my bag, and as I opened it to find my toothbrush I saw the blue box that was a reminder of something. I counted in my head, then recounted.

"Edward, how many days since the wedding?" "14. Why?" I counted yet again, then straightened up with shock on my face. "Bella, what is wrong?" He asked now worried. "I am late Edward. My period is late. It wasn't the chicken that made me sick." I said in a surprised tone.

"So that is what Alice meant..." he commented. "What do you mean?" curiosity in my voice. "Nothing you need to worry about just yet. It will be revealed to you soon enough." he said amused. "I suppose we should get you back to Forks to start your maternity time." he said with sheer joy on his face. I nodded in agreement, but I was sad to leave the island. I was having so much fun. I will never forget our time here, and hopefully we can return soon. For now, my pregnancy was the focus. We packed up, and as we were loading up, Edward called the caretakers to let them know we were leaving, and they could come anytime to clean up. He helped me onto the boat and then we left for the airport.


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12:

(Bella POV)

As soon as we pulled up to the house, everyone came out to greet us. When I say everyone, I mean, Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, Charlie, Sue, Seth, and Jasmine. It was very difficult getting into the house without everyone asking me at least three times if I was sure I was pregnant. I lifted my shirt to show the slight baby bump I had going on, and instantaneously Rosalie changed her attitude towards me.

"Oh, Bella, we must get you inside and off your feet. You need to eat, and we will figure out how you will get the blood in your system since Jasmine said that starting that right away is very important to keeping you safe, and the baby healthy as well." she gushed as if we were now the best of friends.

Edward wasn't too happy about Seth was thinking, and apparently on purpose so I would not find out. "Edward, what is going on. I see you and Seth having a one sided conversation, so tell me." Charlie cleared his throat just then.

"Edward, son, it's best to just tell her now, because it will come out anyway. "Okay, now my Dad is saying something. What is going on?" Edward sighed, then after carrying me up the stairs to the couch in the living room, he sat next to me. "Bella, it seems that Jacob is angry about the baby, but even more so that...well... Charlie, you should finish this." I looked to Charlie for him to finish telling me what Edward was saying. Sue came up next to him, and placed an arm around his waist to give Charlie a nudge.

"Well, Bells, Sue, Leah, and Seth have moved into the house, and Jacob isn't happy that they will be living with me." I took that in for a half a second then turned a surprised face to them.

"Are you two getting married?" I tried to hide my excitement, but failed. "Well, nothing is official yet, but that is something we are talking about Bella, sweetheart." Sue said in her soft voice.

"Yeah, who knows Bella. How would you feel having two wolves as step siblings?" I got up off the couch and went over to hug Seth. "I would love to have you as a stepbrother, Seth. I know Leah doesn't much like me, but she will get over it. Dad, Sue, if this is what makes you happy, please know that you have my support."

"There is just one thing that will take some time to decide though, Bella." Sue went on. "I know Leah will be the one to hate the idea the most, but Seth seems okay with the idea of maybe down the line, I become a vampire as well. I still have a lot to consider, but it could make waves and problems for your new family." Sue continued on hoping I wouldn't judge her.

"It is a big decision, but whatever you choose, let it be from your heart." I encouraged her. Just then we all heard a howl close by. Seth darted out of the house, and into the woods. When he came out a few minutes later, he was in his wolf form. He looked at Edward so that Edward would translate. "Seth has to go talk to Sam, and to tell the pack that we are home from the honeymoon." he said. We waved him on, then a different kind of discussion had to take place.

"Carlisle, can you gain access to blood bags from the blood bank?" Charlie asked. "Yes, I can also buy some as well. I was also considering going into Seattle, Olympia, and maybe even Tacoma for a backup supply."

I looked up and decided to go out on a limb. "Rosalie, would you be willing to help me though this?" All eyes suddenly darted between the both of us, and much to everyone's amazement Rosalie answered in a way nobody expected. "Bella, family calls me Rose, okay, so from now on just use Rose. I would be happy to help you through this, and I know that in order for you to survive this, you have been changed, so don't worry, I am on your side."

Had I just walked into a different dimension? Rosalie wants me to call her "Rose" and is suddenly on my side. Wow, who'd a thought this would happen?

"Now Bella, we can put an iv in so you can have the blood that way, or we can have you drink it. Whichever one you prefer we will go with." Carlisle regained my attention. "I appreciate you giving me the choice in how I get the blood in my system, Carlisle. I think I will try drinking it, and if I can't do it, we will go iv for a last resort."

Jasmine, who had been quiet up until now came to sit by me on the couch. "Bella, this is very important, so please, pay close attention. This obviously isn't a normal pregnancy. You will give birth in just about a month's time, and this would what normal humans call a high risk pregnancy. You need to stay in bed as much as possible. The baby grows fast, and could break your bones. That is why it is important for you to stay in bed as much as possible. I will be around to assist all of you if you need." I smiled at Jasmine, and I let her know I understood perfectly that this could go a different way, but with the preparations we are making, she says I have a great chance.

"Oh, Bella, your daughter will be so beautiful, healthy, and you are going to make one hell of a vampire." Alice said as she was suddenly bouncing with excitement. "She is going to have the most beautiful brown hair, and curly too." Alice continued. I was grateful that Alice could see the baby's future as well as mine. "Thank you, Alice. I appreciate that you can see my future and our daughter's as well."

Carlisle headed out to get the blood from the blood bank in Port Angeles then he went off to Olympia to get some from there. He wanted to save the Seattle run for an emergency in case we needed to have more than we might think. Charlie had told Sue about the pregnancy and soon word spread across the reservation that I was carrying a hybrid baby.

Sam sent Jacob over to see if there was anything that they could do to help us out in anyway. Jacob was very reluctant about coming over, but figured that there was nothing he could do about it all now since Edward and I are married now. When he arrived, he was still angry, but as he came closer to me, he had a calm come over him. I looked to see if Jasper had dosed him with calming waves of emotions, but I had noticed Jasper was actually outside talking to Rose.

"Hey, Bells, um, Sam, sent me over to see if there was anything the packs can do for you." She said kind of shyly. I had picked up on the way he used a plural for "packs"."Thanks, Jake, and what do you mean when you say 'packs'?"

His face suddenly showed some sign of a secret that he just blurted out. "Well, Bells, after the scene I made at your wedding, Sam ordered me to stay away from you permanently, but I couldn't do that. As he forced me into a bow, I suddenly resisted his alpha power, and let the alpha in me rise up. We now have two packs.

I lead Seth, Leah, Quil, and Embry. Sam leads the rest, but we have since found a way to work together." he informed me.

"So that is why you weren't happy when Sue, Leah, and Seth moved into Charlie's house." I said quietly. "I have accepted that Sue and Charlie are mates, and that means that Leah and Seth will be your step siblings if Charlie marries Sue." Jake said.

"So, back to the question at hand, is there anything the packs can do to help in anyway?" Much to my surprise, Edward was the one who spoke up. "When we need to hunt, having someone with the strength to care for Bella would be nice." I apparently wasn't the only one with a surprised look on the face. Jacob was also very surprised. "We can work out a schedule for this, I'm sure. I have to go, but I will be back after I tell Sam what we can help with." Jake said as he waved back at me as he left. All I can think right now is if this is how peaceful things are going to be between my family and the packs, then I wish I had married Edward during Christmas break, but then that was not a practical thing to do since I was still in school.


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13:

(Edward POV)

I was amazed at how well the wolves were willing to work with us. After all, it was against the treaty for any of us to bite a human. They knew what this pregnancy meant for Bella. They knew she would have to be changed in order to survive this. I had wondered if there was a way to get the venom into Bella without having to basically break the treaty. As I sat watching Bella sleep it came to me, if I could somehow draw my venom out of me into a syringe I could then plunge the syringe into Bella's heart to get it going faster.

"Carlisle, can I speak with you for a second?" I asked quietly. He nodded, and he thought to me to head for his study. I nodded in acknowledgment and we headed to it. "What's on your mind, Edward?" I took an unnecessary breath, then started, "I know we don't want to break the treaty, and we know that Bella will have to be changed right after delivering our daughter. Can we draw my venom like blood, keep it in a huge syringe, then when the baby is out, I can use the syringe filled with my venom to change Bella?" I had hoped that it was possible. "Hmm. You have a great idea there. Yes, I believe we can draw venom out like drawing blood from a human. As Bella gets closer to delivering we will take the venom. I also think that you should be prepared to bite if needs be." Carlisle said with concern on his face.

"Do you think she will have more difficulties than Jasmine's mother?" I asked not sure I really wanted to hear his honest answer. It was useless for me to hear his answer even though he didn't say it out loud. I winced a bit at his thoughts, though he did have a good point I can't ignore. "Jasmine's mother was a shapeshifter, stronger than a normal human. Bella does not have that in her favor. I think we should be ready in case things go wrong." Carlisle thought. It was a good thing that Jasmine was staying close by for this. I think we all need a moral boost.

I was quickly drawn out of my thoughts as Bella let out a scream of pain. I raced down stairs to Bella's side. "Bella, Love, what is it?" I couldn't even mask the fright or concern in my voice. "I just rolled onto my side and felt pain in my upper side." she said in between sobs.

Jasmine came rushing in from the porch to help with Bella. I rushed her into the room we had set up for her care, and Carlisle took x-rays of her ribs. "It appears to have cracked a rib. It's not broken, but we should keep an eye on it for sure. I will but a wrap bandage on you to help keep it stable." Carlisle said as he pointed out the small crack. Jasmine helped Carlisle with the bandages, grabbed Bella some water, then asked her if she wanted some blood.

As Bella nodded for the blood, and Carlisle finished wrapping her I picked her up and carried her back to the couch. Jacob came in, and told us that whenever we were ready to go hunt he would be staying by Bella's side, Seth and Leah would be keeping close by incase any trouble came our way, and that Quil and Embry would also be close to assist in helping Bella. I was grateful that the tribal doctor was willing to stay in town while we hunted incase Bella needed something. He was well rehearsed in the supernatural medicine, and knew that because Bella was still human he could do enough to help her while we were out. "Bella, we won't be far, and you will have Jacob and Jasmine here to help you. We also won't be gone long. The tribal doctor is staying in town in case he is needed." I said as I kissed her on the top of her head as we prepared to go out hunting. She looked up, smiled at me, then nodded as she fell asleep.

(Bella POV)

As Edward kissed my head before going hunting, I let the thoughts of a daughter fill my head. I heard the closing of the door, and drifted off to sleep. I was aware that Jake was close by me, and asked him in a sleepy haze if he would sit by me to keep me warm. He did so, and soon I was in a very peaceful sleep with good dreams. My dream was kind of sweet really. Edward and I were sitting next to a cozy campfire with our daughter as she was roasting marshmallows for her S'mores, and we saw a shooting star. I told our little girl to make a wish, and as she did so, the most amazing thing happened. A strange note fell from the sky, and it was addressed to "The Cullen Coven". It appears to be a letter from the Volturi in Italy giving us permission to allow my mother and Phil in on our secret, but only if they promise to keep it all to themselves. The letter went on to say that the Volturi would come to the house to meet my mother and Phil, and to show them that keeping our secret is very important or they will be killed. They would also give them the chance of being turned so they could spend all eternity with their granddaughter if they so choose. I woke with a bit of a start with that dream. I wasn't expecting to be able to keep my mother in my life after the change because of the laws of keeping the existence of vampires a secret. Was this a premonition or was this just wishful thinking? Ugh, either way, that dream was quite interesting to say the least.

I had hoped that Edward would return soon so I could tell him about my dream, and to see what Alice thought of it. I know it seems just too good to be true, but it seems almost cruel really to have Charlie being a part of his granddaughter's life forever, and my mother and Phil not to be. After all, things have been taking surprising turns since the wedding. Maybe, just maybe, this would be the only exception to the Volturi's laws.

Just as I was coming out of my thoughts, I felt Jake stiffen next to me. "What is it Jake?" I asked knowing that I could hear howling close by.

"I don't know for sure. I gotta go phase and find out. Jasmine, come sit with Bella while I find out what Seth is howling for." Jake said as he stood quickly and practically ran out the door. Jasmine sat next to me, handed me a cup of blood, and opened a book of baby's names to help me try to pick out our daughter's name. Jake came in quickly, and told me to call Edward. "What is it Jake?" I asked in a panic now.

"Tell him that Irena is trying to get through the pack's line to get to you. She is still looking for revenge for us killing that leech with the dreads." He said as he walked the perimeter of the house. I sighed in irritation that Irena chose now to seek revenge. I hit speed dial to call Edward, and he picked up on the first ring. "Bella! What's wrong?!"

"Jake said Seth alerted him to Irena's presence trying to get through the pack's line to get to me for revenge. She is looking to get to me since the pack killed Laurent, and still thinks that I am lying about him trying to kill me." There was a few seconds of silence then I heard a very menacing growl coming from him. "I don't care if she is family! If Irena comes close to you I will kill her myself! I am already on my way home Bella. Tell Jacob I am five minutes away. I love you my Bella. See you soon." He hung up right after that, and I told Jake that Edward was five minutes away.

You knew when that five minutes were up, because I heard Edward slam someone up against the side of the porch. Jasmine got up to look, and was shocked to find Edward had Irena by her throat giving her a very stern threat of leaving you alone or she would die. I heard Irena cry out that justice needed to be served. Just then I heard Carlisle's voice.

"Irena! Edward! Stop now!" Even I was shocked at the venom in Carlisle's tone. "Irena, go back home, now! I know Bella would not lie about Laurent trying to kill her, and the werewolves of La Push would have killed him anyway for hunting in the area. I suggest you take time to accept what happened and move on." With that said, Edward released Irena, and she ran back towards Alaska. Edward came up to the living room and scooped me up into his arms and made sure I was okay.


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14:

(Bella POV)

After we talked about the confrontation with Irena, I turned to Alice, Edward, and Carlisle to ask them their thoughts on my dream. "Carlisle, I know you lived with the Volturi for a while, and Edward you would know how Aro, Marcus, and Caius think. Alice, I would like to know if you could see any possibility that what I am about to tell you could happen." I said with an unsure look on my face. Would they think I have gone insane?

"Okay, so while you were hunting, I took a nap. During this nap I had a dream that we were sitting by a fire while our daughter was roasting marshmallows to make S'mores. We saw a shooting start, we made a wish, and then a note fluttered down from the sky. It was from the Volturi granting the wish. The wish was that Renee and Phil could know about vampires as long as they could meet the Volturi, and know that if they spoke of the existence they would be killed. It was a wish made so that Charlie would not be the only one on my side of the family to be able to be a part of our daughter's life." I said in somewhat of a rush. It took a moment for Carlisle to speak.

"Bella, I don't know if they would ever be that lenient with the rules, but if they were given the option to be changed or killed it might happen, but the chances are very, very slim."

"I have to agree with Carlisle, Bella. I don't think they would bend the rules to allow your mother and Phil to know about us." Edward said softly.

"Hmmm. I can't tell it that could happen or not. Since nobody is trying to make the decision to do so, I am at a disadvantage here." Alice said sweetly.

"I bet you all think I am just crazy right now." I said looking kind of sheepish. "But even I have to admit that my dream was just out there in the crazy zone."

(Carlisle POV)

I found Bella's dream quite intriguing. This is quite the unique circumstances with Bella being the only human that we know of who is or has gone through this that didn't have any supernatural blood in her veins. I decided to call Denali to talk to Eleazar about this. Maybe he would be able to give us some insight about this dream.

…time skip…

I had been talking to Eleazar for about two hours before I hung up with him. Edward had known what the conversation consisted of, so it was no surprise when he knocked on my study door. "Come in Edward." He looked up at me, and knew that Bella's dream was only wishful thinking.

"I know Bella won't like hearing that it is wishful thinking, but I think it is for the better. Part of her family needs to live on." Edward said in an assuring tone.

"Yeah, I know Edward. Just then Alice came bouncing in to tell me she had seen a vision of a call Bella is going to have in about an hour. "Renee will call Bella in an hour to tell her that Phil is accepting a coaching job in Jacksonville, and it's perfect for them due to the unexpected surprise that Renee is now pregnant with twins." Alice chimed.

"Edward, you had better go check on how Bella is doing. Inform her I will be doing a checkup this afternoon. I think we are about two days from her delivering." I gave him a nod, then we both saw Alice's eyes glaze over from a vision. "Alice, what is it?" I asked. She snapped out of it, and confirmed that Bella would deliver in two days' time, and the only complication would be a bit more blood loss than we calculated. I noted that so I could pick up a pint of blood to help sustain her. I also told Edward that we would be drawing the venom out of him tomorrow.

(Bella POV)

I had just woken from a nap when Edward entered the room to inform me that Carlisle would do a checkup later in the afternoon, and brought the phone closer to me. We sat going through baby names and when I told him I had put our mother's names together as Renesmee he liked it. "What about the middle name?" he asked. "Well, I thought either Maryrose for Alice and Rose or Charlize for Carlisle and Charlie." I said unsure.

"Well, I think I like Charlize if you ask me." Edward said in a loving tone. "Charlize it is then." I said proudly. Just then the phone rang. Edward left the room to give me some privacy as he saw the number on caller id as my mother. "Hello Mom, how are you?"

"Oh Bella, things are very interesting to say the least. Are you sitting down sweetie?" she greeted in an enthusiastic tone. "Yeah, Mom. I am. Why?"

"Okay, Phil has excepted a coaching job here in Jacksonville so no more moving around. The reason why is…. oh…Bella, we are expecting twins! Can you believe it?! Phil and I are having babies!" she gushed out in utter shock and excitement.

"You're pregnant? Mom, twins? How far along are you?" I couldn't hide my shock either.

"Bella I am eight weeks well two months along. I went in to the doctor and they saw two little spots in the ultrasound indicating twins. I hope I can do this again. I am just so out of practice and we know I have always been a young soul." She said doubting her capabilities of being a parent all over again.

"Mom, you will be great at it. You have Phil, and you will not be stuck in a rainy town and unhappy this time. You have had the chance to travel all over, and when Phil goes to games you will be just fine." I said trying to sound reassuring.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you that he is coaching at a high school. His own coach from the team helped him get a better salary than what they offered. He will be making just as much money coaching at the high school as he is making as a minor league player. He has a teaching contract with the school for at least five years with possible pay raises each year." She continued to tell me.

"I am so happy for you both Mom." I said honestly. "I know you will do good. Keep me updated on the progress."

"Oh, honey I will. Well I've got to go. We are going out to celebrate our news. I love you, Bella. Give my love to Edward, and the rest of the Cullen's as well. Take care my sweet Bella. Bye for now."

"I will tell everyone hi. Give my love and congratulations to Phil. I love you too, Mom. Bye." I hung up the phone, and soon Edward and Alice came into the room to talk to me. Alice seemed to have the all-knowing look on her face that she had seen the news beforehand.

"Congratulations Bella. You are going to be a big sister to two very healthy babies. They are going to be fraternal twins. One girl, one boy. And don't worry, your mother will do just fine as will Phil." Alice said with a sweet smile on her face. "Thanks, Alice. That means a lot to me to know that she will be okay. I guess that means what I have been dreaming won't actually come true, and strangely I am actually grateful that it was all just a silly dream." I said as the news actually started to sink in.


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15:

(Charlie POV)

I had gone over to visit Bella and the rest of the Cullen's to check up on Bella's progress. Carlisle informed me that Bella would deliver in two days, and the change would begin after delivery. I had brought Sue with me because we had wanted to tell Bella in person that we were getting married, and that Seth and Leah would be her step siblings in just three months. Sue had wanted to ask Alice to help her with the wedding, and even though she was reluctant, Leah had asked to help and work along with Alice. I was not prepared for what was about to happen.

"Hey Bells, Sue and I have some news we wanted to share with you and the rest of the Cullen's." I said as we entered the living room. "And I have some news to share with you, Dad. It's about Mom." Bella replied. "What about your Mom? Is she okay?" I was now alarmed. "Yeah, Dad. But you might want to sit down for this, okay." Bella said unsure of herself.

I sat down with Sue sitting next to me, and then I looked at Bella with a look of worry on my face. "Alright Bells, what's going on with your Mom?" I asked bracing myself for the worst.

"Okay, don't freak out, but Mom and Phil are expecting twins." Bella said with a straight but concerned look. I sat there for a few seconds letting the words I knew she said settle in. "She's pregnant with twins?" I asked not fully believing the words. "Yes, Dad. She called me earlier today with the news. She is basically two months along, and said the doctor saw two spots in the ultrasound."

I have to admit I was taken back by the news of Renee being pregnant, but yet I was over joyed for her and Phil. "Wow! I am shocked, but very happy for her and Phil. This is their chance to have a family together. I will have to call her later to congratulate her and Phil."

"You took that a bit better than I did, Dad." Bella confessed. "So, what's your news that you wanted to share with us." Bella asked. I could see Alice bouncing out of the corner of my eye, but shot her a warning look not to blurt it out, and then shot Edward the same look. They both smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. I pulled Sue closer to me, took an unnecessary breath, then looked at Bella. "I have asked Sue to marry me, and she accepted. We are getting married in three months." I said carefully.

"Oh Dad! Congratulations Dad, Sue! I am so happy for you both. Sue I would love to have you as a stepmother. I already love Seth like a brother, and I know Leah doesn't like me much, but I would like to get the chance to win her over as a sister." Bella gushed in pure excitement.

"Alice?" Sue spoke up. "I know you can see the future, and I know you know what I am about to ask, but please allow me to ask out loud." Sue paused to see if Alice would agree. Alice nodded just once in encouragement for Sue to continue. "Alice, would you alongside of Leah, plan my wedding to Charlie?"

It took only a half a second before Alice was vibrating in utter excitement. "Oh Sue! Yes! Of course I would love to plan your wedding! I would love to hear Leah's thoughts and input as well. And Bella, don't worry, Leah is slowly coming around. I can see you two will bond as sisters."

"Thanks for the reassurance Alice." I said with a warm smile on my face. "I was hoping that Bells and Leah would get over whatever differences they had. Also, thanks for helping Sue with the wedding. You really are the only one we know that could pull this off in just three months."

"It's no problem Charlie. Sue, Leah, and I can get together during the time Bella will be undergoing the change to discuss colors, décor, and style." Alice chimed. The thought of my baby girl in pain for three days made me cringe. Carlisle noticed my face at the mention of the change and flashed a comforting smile to me.

"Charlie, I want you to know that we are going to give Bella a good amount of morphine and muscle relaxers to try to ease the pain of transforming. We want her to be as comfortable as possible, but we can't fully stop the pain." Carlisle had informed me that they had talked about the pain with Bella and that she agreed to try anything to help dull the pain. That brought some relief to me.

I remember the pain of my transformation, and could not fathom the idea of Bella going through that. Even though Carlisle had given me morphine he had not given me the muscle relaxers. That got me thinking of why he chose to try it on Bella. "Hey Carlisle? What made you decide to try muscle relaxers along with the morphine?" I asked.

"Well, I came across a patient while I was out on a blood run who had been bitten, but of course the wolves chased the vampire thinking the man was dead in the excitement. I had noticed he was just barely aware he was going to die. I had told him what happened, and that I would make him as comfortable as possible. I gave him the morphine, and just before he slipped into unconsciousness he asked for something to make his muscles. I gave him the shot of muscle relaxers, and sure enough he gave out a sigh before going under. I put him in a nearby cave, went hunting, and went back to check on him. After the three days he woke. I asked him how the change went for him, and he said he was still in pain during the change, but somehow it was more tolerable. I, of course offered him to stay with us to get use to the vegetarian lifestyle or he could become a nomad. He went hunting with me, picked up the idea of hunting animals, and decided to become a nomad. I informed him of the wolves, not to hunt humans in their range, only pick the bad humans if he chose to hunt them instead of animals. I informed him of the Volturi, and we parted ways." Carlisle told us of his findings.

"Well for that, I am grateful to know that the muscle relaxers helped him. I hope the same thing will happen for Bella." I said thoughtfully.

…Time skip…..

(Edward POV)

The two days had passed by quickly. We were preparing Carlisle's office for Bella so we could deliver our daughter. Charlie and Sue had asked to stay during the entire thing, so we set them up in the guest bedroom. I was making sure the venom was on the top tray, and that we had everything we needed. We had scheduled the time so Bella would be more prepared for this. She had an outfit picked out for Renesmee to wear right after her birth, and of course Alice had smiled when it was the one she really wanted on our daughter first.

"Okay everyone, the time has come for this to happen." Carlisle had said to all of us. I picked Bella up, and carried her into the room. I laid her down on the hospital bed Carlisle had managed to get, and we got Bella ready for the C-section. Jasmine was in the living room with everyone else, and offered words of comfort to everyone. The reason her mother died wasn't from her birth, but an injury she had while out hunting. Her father died by suicide. He jumped off a cliff into a bonfire, so she wanted everyone to know that she did not die in birth. I was thankful she told us her story.

Everyone came in to say their well wishes to Bella, and gave her a kissed her on her head. Carlisle, Rose, and I got into place to start the procedure. Rose and I assisted Carlisle since the both of us had medical degrees. Rose stayed by Bella's head to help keep her calm. Carlisle had given Bella a local anesthetic for the C-section, and we got to work. When we made the incision, Carlisle then gave me the go ahead to bite open the amoebic sack, which was as tough as our vampire skin so only vampire teeth could tear it open, and we got a healthy, happy Renesmee out. I licked Bella's incision to close and heal it, and let her see and hold Renesmee before we gave her the venom.

"Hello my beautiful Renesmee. I love you so much. You be good for the family while Mommy goes through the change. You are just so beautiful, my sweet baby girl." Bella said as she handed Renesmee back to Rose.

Bella was looking very pale and weak. I walked over to her, and kissed her softly as I brushed her hair back from her face. "I love you, Bella. I hope this won't be so painful for you." I whispered in her ear. Just then Carlisle came up with two syringes. "Bella, this one I am giving you is the morphine." Carlisle said as he pushed the plunger down. He grabbed the second one, then spoke again. "This one is a very strong muscle relaxer. As soon as I am done pushing it into your iv, you will not be able to fight the sleepiness. Once you are asleep, I will remove the iv, and then we will start your change." He soothed her. "S'okay", she managed to whisper out just before succumbing to the medications.

Once Carlisle had removed the iv, he gave me a nod to inject the venom straight into her heart. I did so, and just to be sure, I had bitten at every main artery along Bella's body, licking the spots to seal them closed in the process. Now all we could do was sit and wait while monitoring Bella as we did.

(Charlie POV)

Edward had refused to leave Bella's side while she was undergoing the change. Rose, Alice, and Esme had helped get Bella cleaned up, dressed, hair brushed, and Alice being Alice, makeup on. After Carlisle had weighed, measured, and cleaned up Renesmee, Rose dressed her in the sweet soft pink onesie outfit that had little red roses all over it, Edward got to hold her, then allowed Rose to present her to the rest of the family. I was so happy to see my granddaughter being brought out to us for the first time. Renesmee was such a beautiful girl with Bella's chocolate brown eyes, and streaks of bronze in her mahogany hair. She was given her first official taste of blood in a baby bottle, and she just looked so amazing. We each took turns holding her and doting on her. Things took a very interesting twist when Jacob had asked to hold her, though.

Once Renesmee was in Jake's arms, he started to look funny. His eyes widened as they kind of glazed over like Alice's does when she gets a vision. Within thirty seconds Jake had a sudden attitude change about the whole situation with Bella and Edward. I had been clued in that Edward and Jake had been fighting each other for Bella's love, but when it was clear Bella had chosen Edward, Jake was most unhappy. That all changed in thirty seconds. It was Seth who broke the awkward silence.

"Um, I don't mean to bring up issues here, but I think Jake just imprinted on Renesmee." He said unsure of himself. Just then, Edward busted into the room, and read Jake's mind. He let out a fierce growl and instructed me to get Rensesmee out of Jake's arms. I gently took my granddaughter out of Jake's arms, and sat across the room. With one swift move Edward had flipped Jake over and broke his arms. Just then, Leah and Jasmine let out a howl. I had not realized that Jasmine had transformed into a wolf, but she had. Seth phased and asked what was going on. It seems that a group of vampires were passing through, and it wasn't anyone Leah had smelled or seen before.

Carlisle asked Edward to get the location so he could go check it out. He left, and came back just on hour later. It was nothing to be concerned about. Just a pair of nomads passing though, and he had let them know not to hunt in this area. They agreed and headed North into Canada. All in all, it was pretty peaceful, well, except the Jake imprinting thing.

I had followed Edward into his room where he had Bella laying on the bed he had for her while she was human. I held onto her hand, and talked to her. "Bells, Edward tells me you are not making so much as a sound of pain. I am so glad I can't hear your pain. I think it would kill not just me, but Edward, too. Renesmee is so beautiful. She has your eyes and smile. I hope you do well like me as a newborn sweetheart. Just wanted you to know that Sue is worried about you as well. She is liking the idea of being a grandma. Oh, by the way, Sue has discovered the energetic obsession Alice has for fashion and detail. It's so funny to see them going back and forth over the dresses. And even Leah is having some fun with planning the wedding. It will be so much better when you join us again. Then I can say truthfully my family will be complete." I told her with a smile on my face.

Alice had said that by noon tomorrow Bella will wake up. The amount of venom Edward had given Bella was making the change go faster than she had first seen. We were all grateful to hear that it was going faster for her. That meant less time in pain for her.

It has been just a mere 36 hours since Renesmee's birth and she was already the size of a two month old. It seems so strange to see her like that, but not so surprising since Jasmine had mentioned she was fully grown about seven or eight years after her birth. She was talented like Edward, well, she could show you her memories just by simply touching your cheek. It was funny when she showed me that while she was playing with Emmett he had actually been knocked down by Jasper in an attempt to get some wrestling out of their system. That night the little tyke slept in my arms, and I couldn't have been happier.

Noon was quickly approaching, and Alice came bouncing into the living room. "Just five more minutes and Bella will wake up!" She exclaimed in total excitement. Carlisle, Edward, Jasper, and Emmett had agreed it would be them in the room when she woke from the change. "Any second now." Alice informed us. We all listened as Bella's heart sped up, then suddenly stopped. Edward held his breath unnecessarily in anticipation. Just then, he gasped in awe as Bella's eyes opened.

CHAPTER 16:

(Bella POV)

…. flashback a bit…..

I kissed my sweet Renesmee on the top of her head then Carlisle gave me the morphine. I had already begun to feel real sleepy, but then Carlisle put his hand on my head and told me he was putting a very strong muscle relaxer in as well so I would pretty much be in la-la land anyway. He was injecting it slowly into my arm as he did, he said that when he was done I would not be aware of any pain hopefully. The next thing I remember was feeling a slight burning sensation in the middle of my chest. It was just enough for me to know it was there, and although it was a bit painful, I couldn't wince in pain. I didn't want anyone to know I could still feel the slight burning sensation.

As the darkness started to push me down, I fought to keep the darkness off of me. I focused on the feeling of my daughter. Oh, my daughter, how much I couldn't wait to have her in my arms again. Renesmee is just so beautiful and perfect. Her eyes very much like mine. The chocolate brown eyes and her breath taking smile. I wondered how big she would be by the time I woke up from this. I was brought out of that thought when I could feel burning in my neck, my arms, my wrists, my legs, and my ankles. My entire body was now burning, and it became a bit more noticeable in pain. Not too much, but enough to make me want to let out a small scream. I didn't scream, no, I couldn't scream and worry Edward more than I knew he already was.

I could hear him talking to me during the pain. He said that he had asked Jasper if I was in serious pain. Jasper had assured him that the pain was manageable. That put Edward at ease but not by much. He knew I was still feeling pain, and a tiny bit of pain was too much for him to hear. Oh how I just wanted to speak and let him know it was not that bad. In fact, I know I had worse pain. I can hear Alice telling him she knew how stunning I was going to be, and that he didn't have to worry about me being around Renesmee. I knew and would know she is my daughter and would never desire her blood. Edward let a sigh of relief. He was happy to know that our daughter would always be safe around me.

I heard Charlie come in. "Hey Bells, I sure do miss you kiddo. Sue and I have not left. I will not leave for a while. Sue wants you to know that she cares and hopes you are not in too much pain. Your mother called. I told her that she just missed you. That you and Edward were out having a nice romantic dinner, and enjoying the newlywed phase. She understood and said she would like you to call her when you are not so busy. I told her I would. She was surprised but happy that I was hanging out with Carlisle and Esme. Well, I'm going back to sit by Sue. I love you, Bells."

Wow, that is odd. My mom was surprised. I could feel the fire pulling into my stomach now. It was like the feeling I had while I was pregnant, but different. I could feel my bones mending themselves in my pelvis. I remember hearing Carlisle tell me that I had a broken pelvis just before Renesmee was born.

It feels like it has been a century since I felt the burning. Why does it feel like a century? Why couldn't this just go faster? I knew I was getting restless in my mind, and I knew the reason why. Not only did I want to see my husband's face again, but I wanted to hold my daughter again. The feeling of her was still in my arms, and I knew that she really wasn't in my arms. I yearned for her to be in my arms. I think that concentrating on my daughter is helping me get through the change and the burning. I don't know how long it has been, but it feels like forever ago that I started this change. Why is it taking so long? Wait, Alice is telling Edward something. Noon tomorrow? That can't get here fast enough!

All sorts of things keep going through my mind. I keep thinking about Renesmee, my mom, Phil. Wait, my mom… that's right she is pregnant. I am going to have younger siblings. I hope I will be able to meet them some day, and not want to drink their blood. I can feel my heart speeding up now. Wow. Am I really watching my life right now? The burning is going away. What a relief. Aww. I was such a cute baby. Wait, my heart is now slowing down. Slower. It's like two beats a minute now. The burning is almost gone. No, the burning is now gone, and so is my heart beat. "She should be opening her eyes any second now" I heard Alice chime down stairs.

I felt the need to suddenly open my eyes, so I flung them open. I blinked a few times trying to get them fully clear. As I did I could see the dust motes in the air, I looked across the room and could plainly see the words on a picture Edward had hung in the room. I could see the dirt in the carpet. Then I thought about looking at my hand, and just as I thought that, my hand shot up for me to see. As I thought to myself to sit up, I was already up. I was looking around the room. No, not looking, searching. I was searching for Edward. Then I saw he was in the door way of his, I mean our room. He slowly reached out for me. How odd. Why was he hesitating?

I grabbed his hand in mine. He was no longer cold to the touch. He is so soft, so warm, so perfect, and so mine! With my new eyes, I could see just how amazing Edward really was. My human eyes were cloudy to the actual look. With my new eyes he was even more like a Greek God than before. I just let him caress me and hold me for a minute. Then, I pulled him into a hug much easier than before.

"Oof. Um, Bella, you are much stronger than I am right now. It's your turn not to break me." He said sounding like he had the breath knocked out of him if it were possible.

I looked into his eyes and smiled. "I love you." I said. I sounded like a glass bell ringing, and it was beautiful.

"I love you. You are so beautiful." He murmured back to me. "Alice put a mirror in here so you could see what you look like." He said gesturing to the mirror on the other side of the bed.

I walked to it with Edward behind me. I had to admit I could see parts of the old me, and a lot of the new me, and I was actually breath taking beautiful. Still not quite as beautiful as Rose, Alice, or Esme, but not that far off. I turned suddenly and asked, "Renesmee?"

"She is amazing, Bella." Edward said like he was speaking of a goddess. "I have to see her!" I said in excitement.

"Okay, but just for a minute. We need to get your thirst under control before you see the rest downstairs."

Alice had Renesmee in her arms, and in the room in a matter of seconds. I heard the fast pace of her heart beat, and was very familiar with her scent. I took one look at my daughter, and knew I had a very stunning child. I reached out to her, and she reached for me at the same time. It was surreal holding Renesmee in my arms again. "How long was I out?" I asked shocked to see that she now looked like a two to three month old instead of a new born.

"Only two and a half days." Edward said. "Her growth rate is still fast, and will be until she is about seven or eight." He continued. Just then, Renesmee put her hand on my cheek, and I then saw myself looking like I was very sick. I also saw the images of everyone, then a bottle of blood, and then nothing. I felt the burning in my throat, and then asked "What was that?"

"She showed you the first memory she has of you, then she showed you what you missed." Edward said sounding not at all surprised at this.

"Showed me? How?" I asked in awe.

"How do I read minds? How does Alice see the future? How is Jasper an empath? She is gifted." Edward said in a whisper. I was so glad to know I could hold my daughter and not feel any urge to drink her blood.

"We should go hunting now." Edward said bringing me out of my thoughts. "Yeah, I want to make sure I don't want to kill any human that might be here." I said in agreement. With that, we jumped out of the window from the bedroom, and took off like a shot.

It felt amazing to be running faster than a car, whipping through the forest missing trees, and enjoying the speed. We ran for about fifteen minutes then Edward suddenly stopped, then stopped me as well. He turned me around to where my back was up against his chest. "Close your eyes." He said.

"What do you hear?" he asked. As I stood there concentrating I could hear a squirrel chewing on an acorn, ants crawling up a tree, an owl cleaning its wing feathers, and all that in ten yards. I then concentrated a bit harder, reaching out. My eyes popped open and my head shot up. "Deer, seventy yards to the East." I said.

"Good. There are about ten of them. Now, let your instincts take over." He said and with that I took off like a silent bullet. I was about five yards from the herd when the wind shifted directions. I froze when I caught the most delicious smell. I could feel the burning in my throat get worse, and before Edward could stop me, I was off after the scent that was calling out to me. I was half way up the ridge when Edward caught up to me.

"Bella! Stop!" he said with such urgency. I turned to face him with a maddening look in my eyes. "I'm sorry Bella. I didn't know there would be humans this far off the trails. I was stupid and reckless. I should have checked to make sure it was safe." He rushed to reach me in my craze.

"I have to get outta here!" I said roughly.

"Okay. That's okay. I can help you with that." Edward said to me with concern in his tone. I just looked at him, then with a start I jumped off the side of the ridge. I began again stalking the herd of deer. As I zeroed in on a large buck, I heard the sound of something on the rocks just above me and three yards to my right. It was a mountain lion, and he was also stalking the big buck. I heard Edward come up behind me, but made no attempt to approach me. I was looking back and forth between the mountain lion and the deer, waiting. As the mountain lion leaped for the buck, I leaped for him. I wrestled him around and pinned him. I found his pulsing jugular with ease, and with one growl I bit into his fur and skin with ease, quickly draining him of his blood, then flinging his carcass to the forest floor. Edward and I hunted a herd of elk, then after I felt very sloshy in the stomach we headed back to the house.

"That was fun!" I said with enthusiasm. "How did I do for my first time hunting?" I asked.

"I am amazed at you Bella. You ran away from human blood mid hunt, and took down a mountain lion right after. Even mature vampires have a hard time doing that. It looks like you inherited that from Charlie." Edward said proudly.

"I bet he would also be thrilled to know I inherited some of his vampire behavior as well as his human traits." I said beaming with delight. We ran back towards the house then slowed to a nice walk when we were just about five hundred feet from the house.

As we approached the house, I was surprised to see Jacob walking towards us, surprise in his eyes. "You are still here?" I asked also in surprise.

"Yeah. I didn't expect you to seem so… you, but then, Charlie was still him so I guess I should have seen that coming. I just gotta say that the two of you look so great together. Life really is the way it was meant to be." Jacob replied.

I thought about that for just a moment, but then I decided to start for the house again. That's when Jake stepped in front of me to stop me. "Jake, what are you doing?" I asked suspiciously.

After looking to Edward, he then looked at me. "I guess I better just let you inside before I go into my story." Jake said as he backed towards the house.

I had known there was something going on that was being kept from me, but I wasn't sure what it was. I had filed that thought away while holding Renesmee, then turning to go hunt. I guess the answer was about to be given to me.

We walked into the house, and I saw Charlie sitting next to Sue. I smiled at them and let Sue know I was grateful that she thought of me while I was changing, and that I wanted her to know that I had no desire to attack her, Seth, or Leah. There scents, in fact, did not call out to me in the least bit. She slowly approached me, and gave me a small hug and a warm smile, showing her thanks of reassurance.

Now with all that being said, I turned to everyone, "Well, I noticed when I woke up, there was tension in the air. I know part of that was due to my newborn status, and wondering how vicious I would be, but there was something else that was causing the tension, much like right now. What is going on that has everyone so tense?" I practically saw a few people tense up as I demanded what was going on.


	16. Chapter 16

CHAPTER 15:

(Charlie POV)

I had gone over to visit Bella and the rest of the Cullen's to check up on Bella's progress. Carlisle informed me that Bella would deliver in two days, and the change would begin after delivery. I had brought Sue with me because we had wanted to tell Bella in person that we were getting married, and that Seth and Leah would be her step siblings in just three months. Sue had wanted to ask Alice to help her with the wedding, and even though she was reluctant, Leah had asked to help and work along with Alice. I was not prepared for what was about to happen.

"Hey Bells, Sue and I have some news we wanted to share with you and the rest of the Cullen's." I said as we entered the living room. "And I have some news to share with you, Dad. It's about Mom." Bella replied. "What about your Mom? Is she okay?" I was now alarmed. "Yeah, Dad. But you might want to sit down for this, okay." Bella said unsure of herself.

I sat down with Sue sitting next to me, and then I looked at Bella with a look of worry on my face. "Alright Bells, what's going on with your Mom?" I asked bracing myself for the worst.

"Okay, don't freak out, but Mom and Phil are expecting twins." Bella said with a straight but concerned look. I sat there for a few seconds letting the words I knew she said settle in. "She's pregnant with twins?" I asked not fully believing the words. "Yes, Dad. She called me earlier today with the news. She is basically two months along, and said the doctor saw two spots in the ultrasound."

I have to admit I was taken back by the news of Renee being pregnant, but yet I was over joyed for her and Phil. "Wow! I am shocked, but very happy for her and Phil. This is their chance to have a family together. I will have to call her later to congratulate her and Phil."

"You took that a bit better than I did, Dad." Bella confessed. "So, what's your news that you wanted to share with us." Bella asked. I could see Alice bouncing out of the corner of my eye, but shot her a warning look not to blurt it out, and then shot Edward the same look. They both smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. I pulled Sue closer to me, took an unnecessary breath, then looked at Bella. "I have asked Sue to marry me, and she accepted. We are getting married in three months." I said carefully.

"Oh Dad! Congratulations Dad, Sue! I am so happy for you both. Sue I would love to have you as a stepmother. I already love Seth like a brother, and I know Leah doesn't like me much, but I would like to get the chance to win her over as a sister." Bella gushed in pure excitement.

"Alice?" Sue spoke up. "I know you can see the future, and I know you know what I am about to ask, but please allow me to ask out loud." Sue paused to see if Alice would agree. Alice nodded just once in encouragement for Sue to continue. "Alice, would you alongside of Leah, plan my wedding to Charlie?"

It took only a half a second before Alice was vibrating in utter excitement. "Oh Sue! Yes! Of course I would love to plan your wedding! I would love to hear Leah's thoughts and input as well. And Bella, don't worry, Leah is slowly coming around. I can see you two will bond as sisters."

"Thanks for the reassurance Alice." I said with a warm smile on my face. "I was hoping that Bells and Leah would get over whatever differences they had. Also, thanks for helping Sue with the wedding. You really are the only one we know that could pull this off in just three months."

"It's no problem Charlie. Sue, Leah, and I can get together during the time Bella will be undergoing the change to discuss colors, décor, and style." Alice chimed. The thought of my baby girl in pain for three days made me cringe. Carlisle noticed my face at the mention of the change and flashed a comforting smile to me.

"Charlie, I want you to know that we are going to give Bella a good amount of morphine and muscle relaxers to try to ease the pain of transforming. We want her to be as comfortable as possible, but we can't fully stop the pain." Carlisle had informed me that they had talked about the pain with Bella and that she agreed to try anything to help dull the pain. That brought some relief to me.

I remember the pain of my transformation, and could not fathom the idea of Bella going through that. Even though Carlisle had given me morphine he had not given me the muscle relaxers. That got me thinking of why he chose to try it on Bella. "Hey Carlisle? What made you decide to try muscle relaxers along with the morphine?" I asked.

"Well, I came across a patient while I was out on a blood run who had been bitten, but of course the wolves chased the vampire thinking the man was dead in the excitement. I had noticed he was just barely aware he was going to die. I had told him what happened, and that I would make him as comfortable as possible. I gave him the morphine, and just before he slipped into unconsciousness he asked for something to make his muscles. I gave him the shot of muscle relaxers, and sure enough he gave out a sigh before going under. I put him in a nearby cave, went hunting, and went back to check on him. After the three days he woke. I asked him how the change went for him, and he said he was still in pain during the change, but somehow it was more tolerable. I, of course offered him to stay with us to get use to the vegetarian lifestyle or he could become a nomad. He went hunting with me, picked up the idea of hunting animals, and decided to become a nomad. I informed him of the wolves, not to hunt humans in their range, only pick the bad humans if he chose to hunt them instead of animals. I informed him of the Volturi, and we parted ways." Carlisle told us of his findings.

"Well for that, I am grateful to know that the muscle relaxers helped him. I hope the same thing will happen for Bella." I said thoughtfully.

…Time skip…..

(Edward POV)

The two days had passed by quickly. We were preparing Carlisle's office for Bella so we could deliver our daughter. Charlie and Sue had asked to stay during the entire thing, so we set them up in the guest bedroom. I was making sure the venom was on the top tray, and that we had everything we needed. We had scheduled the time so Bella would be more prepared for this. She had an outfit picked out for Renesmee to wear right after her birth, and of course Alice had smiled when it was the one she really wanted on our daughter first.

"Okay everyone, the time has come for this to happen." Carlisle had said to all of us. I picked Bella up, and carried her into the room. I laid her down on the hospital bed Carlisle had managed to get, and we got Bella ready for the C-section. Jasmine was in the living room with everyone else, and offered words of comfort to everyone. The reason her mother died wasn't from her birth, but an injury she had while out hunting. Her father died by suicide. He jumped off a cliff into a bonfire, so she wanted everyone to know that she did not die in birth. I was thankful she told us her story.

Everyone came in to say their well wishes to Bella, and gave her a kissed her on her head. Carlisle, Rose, and I got into place to start the procedure. Rose and I assisted Carlisle since the both of us had medical degrees. Rose stayed by Bella's head to help keep her calm. Carlisle had given Bella a local anesthetic for the C-section, and we got to work. When we made the incision, Carlisle then gave me the go ahead to bite open the amoebic sack, which was as tough as our vampire skin so only vampire teeth could tear it open, and we got a healthy, happy Renesmee out. I licked Bella's incision to close and heal it, and let her see and hold Renesmee before we gave her the venom.

"Hello my beautiful Renesmee. I love you so much. You be good for the family while Mommy goes through the change. You are just so beautiful, my sweet baby girl." Bella said as she handed Renesmee back to Rose.

Bella was looking very pale and weak. I walked over to her, and kissed her softly as I brushed her hair back from her face. "I love you, Bella. I hope this won't be so painful for you." I whispered in her ear. Just then Carlisle came up with two syringes. "Bella, this one I am giving you is the morphine." Carlisle said as he pushed the plunger down. He grabbed the second one, then spoke again. "This one is a very strong muscle relaxer. As soon as I am done pushing it into your iv, you will not be able to fight the sleepiness. Once you are asleep, I will remove the iv, and then we will start your change." He soothed her. "S'okay", she managed to whisper out just before succumbing to the medications.

Once Carlisle had removed the iv, he gave me a nod to inject the venom straight into her heart. I did so, and just to be sure, I had bitten at every main artery along Bella's body, licking the spots to seal them closed in the process. Now all we could do was sit and wait while monitoring Bella as we did.

(Charlie POV)

Edward had refused to leave Bella's side while she was undergoing the change. Rose, Alice, and Esme had helped get Bella cleaned up, dressed, hair brushed, and Alice being Alice, makeup on. After Carlisle had weighed, measured, and cleaned up Renesmee, Rose dressed her in the sweet soft pink onesie outfit that had little red roses all over it, Edward got to hold her, then allowed Rose to present her to the rest of the family. I was so happy to see my granddaughter being brought out to us for the first time. Renesmee was such a beautiful girl with Bella's chocolate brown eyes, and streaks of bronze in her mahogany hair. She was given her first official taste of blood in a baby bottle, and she just looked so amazing. We each took turns holding her and doting on her. Things took a very interesting twist when Jacob had asked to hold her, though.

Once Renesmee was in Jake's arms, he started to look funny. His eyes widened as they kind of glazed over like Alice's does when she gets a vision. Within thirty seconds Jake had a sudden attitude change about the whole situation with Bella and Edward. I had been clued in that Edward and Jake had been fighting each other for Bella's love, but when it was clear Bella had chosen Edward, Jake was most unhappy. That all changed in thirty seconds. It was Seth who broke the awkward silence.

"Um, I don't mean to bring up issues here, but I think Jake just imprinted on Renesmee." He said unsure of himself. Just then, Edward busted into the room, and read Jake's mind. He let out a fierce growl and instructed me to get Rensesmee out of Jake's arms. I gently took my granddaughter out of Jake's arms, and sat across the room. With one swift move Edward had flipped Jake over and broke his arms. Just then, Leah and Jasmine let out a howl. I had not realized that Jasmine had transformed into a wolf, but she had. Seth phased and asked what was going on. It seems that a group of vampires were passing through, and it wasn't anyone Leah had smelled or seen before.

Carlisle asked Edward to get the location so he could go check it out. He left, and came back just on hour later. It was nothing to be concerned about. Just a pair of nomads passing though, and he had let them know not to hunt in this area. They agreed and headed North into Canada. All in all, it was pretty peaceful, well, except the Jake imprinting thing.

I had followed Edward into his room where he had Bella laying on the bed he had for her while she was human. I held onto her hand, and talked to her. "Bells, Edward tells me you are not making so much as a sound of pain. I am so glad I can't hear your pain. I think it would kill not just me, but Edward, too. Renesmee is so beautiful. She has your eyes and smile. I hope you do well like me as a newborn sweetheart. Just wanted you to know that Sue is worried about you as well. She is liking the idea of being a grandma. Oh, by the way, Sue has discovered the energetic obsession Alice has for fashion and detail. It's so funny to see them going back and forth over the dresses. And even Leah is having some fun with planning the wedding. It will be so much better when you join us again. Then I can say truthfully my family will be complete." I told her with a smile on my face.

Alice had said that by noon tomorrow Bella will wake up. The amount of venom Edward had given Bella was making the change go faster than she had first seen. We were all grateful to hear that it was going faster for her. That meant less time in pain for her.

It has been just a mere 36 hours since Renesmee's birth and she was already the size of a two month old. It seems so strange to see her like that, but not so surprising since Jasmine had mentioned she was fully grown about seven or eight years after her birth. She was talented like Edward, well, she could show you her memories just by simply touching your cheek. It was funny when she showed me that while she was playing with Emmett he had actually been knocked down by Jasper in an attempt to get some wrestling out of their system. That night the little tyke slept in my arms, and I couldn't have been happier.

Noon was quickly approaching, and Alice came bouncing into the living room. "Just five more minutes and Bella will wake up!" She exclaimed in total excitement. Carlisle, Edward, Jasper, and Emmett had agreed it would be them in the room when she woke from the change. "Any second now." Alice informed us. We all listened as Bella's heart sped up, then suddenly stopped. Edward held his breath unnecessarily in anticipation. Just then, he gasped in awe as Bella's eyes opened.

CHAPTER 16:

(Bella POV)

…. flashback a bit…..

I kissed my sweet Renesmee on the top of her head then Carlisle gave me the morphine. I had already begun to feel real sleepy, but then Carlisle put his hand on my head and told me he was putting a very strong muscle relaxer in as well so I would pretty much be in la-la land anyway. He was injecting it slowly into my arm as he did, he said that when he was done I would not be aware of any pain hopefully. The next thing I remember was feeling a slight burning sensation in the middle of my chest. It was just enough for me to know it was there, and although it was a bit painful, I couldn't wince in pain. I didn't want anyone to know I could still feel the slight burning sensation.

As the darkness started to push me down, I fought to keep the darkness off of me. I focused on the feeling of my daughter. Oh, my daughter, how much I couldn't wait to have her in my arms again. Renesmee is just so beautiful and perfect. Her eyes very much like mine. The chocolate brown eyes and her breath taking smile. I wondered how big she would be by the time I woke up from this. I was brought out of that thought when I could feel burning in my neck, my arms, my wrists, my legs, and my ankles. My entire body was now burning, and it became a bit more noticeable in pain. Not too much, but enough to make me want to let out a small scream. I didn't scream, no, I couldn't scream and worry Edward more than I knew he already was.

I could hear him talking to me during the pain. He said that he had asked Jasper if I was in serious pain. Jasper had assured him that the pain was manageable. That put Edward at ease but not by much. He knew I was still feeling pain, and a tiny bit of pain was too much for him to hear. Oh how I just wanted to speak and let him know it was not that bad. In fact, I know I had worse pain. I can hear Alice telling him she knew how stunning I was going to be, and that he didn't have to worry about me being around Renesmee. I knew and would know she is my daughter and would never desire her blood. Edward let a sigh of relief. He was happy to know that our daughter would always be safe around me.

I heard Charlie come in. "Hey Bells, I sure do miss you kiddo. Sue and I have not left. I will not leave for a while. Sue wants you to know that she cares and hopes you are not in too much pain. Your mother called. I told her that she just missed you. That you and Edward were out having a nice romantic dinner, and enjoying the newlywed phase. She understood and said she would like you to call her when you are not so busy. I told her I would. She was surprised but happy that I was hanging out with Carlisle and Esme. Well, I'm going back to sit by Sue. I love you, Bells."

Wow, that is odd. My mom was surprised. I could feel the fire pulling into my stomach now. It was like the feeling I had while I was pregnant, but different. I could feel my bones mending themselves in my pelvis. I remember hearing Carlisle tell me that I had a broken pelvis just before Renesmee was born.

It feels like it has been a century since I felt the burning. Why does it feel like a century? Why couldn't this just go faster? I knew I was getting restless in my mind, and I knew the reason why. Not only did I want to see my husband's face again, but I wanted to hold my daughter again. The feeling of her was still in my arms, and I knew that she really wasn't in my arms. I yearned for her to be in my arms. I think that concentrating on my daughter is helping me get through the change and the burning. I don't know how long it has been, but it feels like forever ago that I started this change. Why is it taking so long? Wait, Alice is telling Edward something. Noon tomorrow? That can't get here fast enough!

All sorts of things keep going through my mind. I keep thinking about Renesmee, my mom, Phil. Wait, my mom… that's right she is pregnant. I am going to have younger siblings. I hope I will be able to meet them some day, and not want to drink their blood. I can feel my heart speeding up now. Wow. Am I really watching my life right now? The burning is going away. What a relief. Aww. I was such a cute baby. Wait, my heart is now slowing down. Slower. It's like two beats a minute now. The burning is almost gone. No, the burning is now gone, and so is my heart beat. "She should be opening her eyes any second now" I heard Alice chime down stairs.

I felt the need to suddenly open my eyes, so I flung them open. I blinked a few times trying to get them fully clear. As I did I could see the dust motes in the air, I looked across the room and could plainly see the words on a picture Edward had hung in the room. I could see the dirt in the carpet. Then I thought about looking at my hand, and just as I thought that, my hand shot up for me to see. As I thought to myself to sit up, I was already up. I was looking around the room. No, not looking, searching. I was searching for Edward. Then I saw he was in the door way of his, I mean our room. He slowly reached out for me. How odd. Why was he hesitating?

I grabbed his hand in mine. He was no longer cold to the touch. He is so soft, so warm, so perfect, and so mine! With my new eyes, I could see just how amazing Edward really was. My human eyes were cloudy to the actual look. With my new eyes he was even more like a Greek God than before. I just let him caress me and hold me for a minute. Then, I pulled him into a hug much easier than before.

"Oof. Um, Bella, you are much stronger than I am right now. It's your turn not to break me." He said sounding like he had the breath knocked out of him if it were possible.

I looked into his eyes and smiled. "I love you." I said. I sounded like a glass bell ringing, and it was beautiful.

"I love you. You are so beautiful." He murmured back to me. "Alice put a mirror in here so you could see what you look like." He said gesturing to the mirror on the other side of the bed.

I walked to it with Edward behind me. I had to admit I could see parts of the old me, and a lot of the new me, and I was actually breath taking beautiful. Still not quite as beautiful as Rose, Alice, or Esme, but not that far off. I turned suddenly and asked, "Renesmee?"

"She is amazing, Bella." Edward said like he was speaking of a goddess. "I have to see her!" I said in excitement.

"Okay, but just for a minute. We need to get your thirst under control before you see the rest downstairs."

Alice had Renesmee in her arms, and in the room in a matter of seconds. I heard the fast pace of her heart beat, and was very familiar with her scent. I took one look at my daughter, and knew I had a very stunning child. I reached out to her, and she reached for me at the same time. It was surreal holding Renesmee in my arms again. "How long was I out?" I asked shocked to see that she now looked like a two to three month old instead of a new born.

"Only two and a half days." Edward said. "Her growth rate is still fast, and will be until she is about seven or eight." He continued. Just then, Renesmee put her hand on my cheek, and I then saw myself looking like I was very sick. I also saw the images of everyone, then a bottle of blood, and then nothing. I felt the burning in my throat, and then asked "What was that?"

"She showed you the first memory she has of you, then she showed you what you missed." Edward said sounding not at all surprised at this.

"Showed me? How?" I asked in awe.

"How do I read minds? How does Alice see the future? How is Jasper an empath? She is gifted." Edward said in a whisper. I was so glad to know I could hold my daughter and not feel any urge to drink her blood.

"We should go hunting now." Edward said bringing me out of my thoughts. "Yeah, I want to make sure I don't want to kill any human that might be here." I said in agreement. With that, we jumped out of the window from the bedroom, and took off like a shot.

It felt amazing to be running faster than a car, whipping through the forest missing trees, and enjoying the speed. We ran for about fifteen minutes then Edward suddenly stopped, then stopped me as well. He turned me around to where my back was up against his chest. "Close your eyes." He said.

"What do you hear?" he asked. As I stood there concentrating I could hear a squirrel chewing on an acorn, ants crawling up a tree, an owl cleaning its wing feathers, and all that in ten yards. I then concentrated a bit harder, reaching out. My eyes popped open and my head shot up. "Deer, seventy yards to the East." I said.

"Good. There are about ten of them. Now, let your instincts take over." He said and with that I took off like a silent bullet. I was about five yards from the herd when the wind shifted directions. I froze when I caught the most delicious smell. I could feel the burning in my throat get worse, and before Edward could stop me, I was off after the scent that was calling out to me. I was half way up the ridge when Edward caught up to me.

"Bella! Stop!" he said with such urgency. I turned to face him with a maddening look in my eyes. "I'm sorry Bella. I didn't know there would be humans this far off the trails. I was stupid and reckless. I should have checked to make sure it was safe." He rushed to reach me in my craze.

"I have to get outta here!" I said roughly.

"Okay. That's okay. I can help you with that." Edward said to me with concern in his tone. I just looked at him, then with a start I jumped off the side of the ridge. I began again stalking the herd of deer. As I zeroed in on a large buck, I heard the sound of something on the rocks just above me and three yards to my right. It was a mountain lion, and he was also stalking the big buck. I heard Edward come up behind me, but made no attempt to approach me. I was looking back and forth between the mountain lion and the deer, waiting. As the mountain lion leaped for the buck, I leaped for him. I wrestled him around and pinned him. I found his pulsing jugular with ease, and with one growl I bit into his fur and skin with ease, quickly draining him of his blood, then flinging his carcass to the forest floor. Edward and I hunted a herd of elk, then after I felt very sloshy in the stomach we headed back to the house.

"That was fun!" I said with enthusiasm. "How did I do for my first time hunting?" I asked.

"I am amazed at you Bella. You ran away from human blood mid hunt, and took down a mountain lion right after. Even mature vampires have a hard time doing that. It looks like you inherited that from Charlie." Edward said proudly.

"I bet he would also be thrilled to know I inherited some of his vampire behavior as well as his human traits." I said beaming with delight. We ran back towards the house then slowed to a nice walk when we were just about five hundred feet from the house.

As we approached the house, I was surprised to see Jacob walking towards us, surprise in his eyes. "You are still here?" I asked also in surprise.

"Yeah. I didn't expect you to seem so… you, but then, Charlie was still him so I guess I should have seen that coming. I just gotta say that the two of you look so great together. Life really is the way it was meant to be." Jacob replied.

I thought about that for just a moment, but then I decided to start for the house again. That's when Jake stepped in front of me to stop me. "Jake, what are you doing?" I asked suspiciously.

After looking to Edward, he then looked at me. "I guess I better just let you inside before I go into my story." Jake said as he backed towards the house.

I had known there was something going on that was being kept from me, but I wasn't sure what it was. I had filed that thought away while holding Renesmee, then turning to go hunt. I guess the answer was about to be given to me.

We walked into the house, and I saw Charlie sitting next to Sue. I smiled at them and let Sue know I was grateful that she thought of me while I was changing, and that I wanted her to know that I had no desire to attack her, Seth, or Leah. There scents, in fact, did not call out to me in the least bit. She slowly approached me, and gave me a small hug and a warm smile, showing her thanks of reassurance.

Now with all that being said, I turned to everyone, "Well, I noticed when I woke up, there was tension in the air. I know part of that was due to my newborn status, and wondering how vicious I would be, but there was something else that was causing the tension, much like right now. What is going on that has everyone so tense?" I practically saw a few people tense up as I demanded what was going on.


	17. Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17:

(Edward POV)

I knew this was going to turn out badly for Jacob, but it was something that could not or should not be kept from Bella. After all it was our daughter it had to deal with. Jasmine came into the living room, and put herself close to Charlie and Renesmee, so that if things went bad, she could help them out of the room quickly. I actually wonder how Bella will take the news.

Jake started to look a bit unsure, but he then began to speak. "Um, well it's about Renesmee…" he started to wince under Bella's now protective stare.

"What about Renesmee?" Bella growled out.

"Well, it's kind of a wolf thing, and it does not mean what you think it means Bella. I promise!" Jake stammered out.

"What's a 'wolf thing'?" Bella was now looking murderous.

"I-I-I uh…." Jake couldn't finish as Bella put the pieces together.

"YOU IMPRINTED ON MY DAUGHTER!? SHE'S A BABY, JAKE!" Bella growled out fiercely as she grabbed Jake's neck and threw him out the door into the front yard. Charlie, Sue, and Renesmee were now watching from one of the windows as the rest of us followed them outside.

"It really doesn't mean what you think it does, Bella, I promise you that. Do you think Edward or even Charlie would have let me live if it did?" Jake stated to try to calm Bella down.

"Look, all I want is for Nessie to be safe." He continued.

Bella looked enraged again. "You nicknamed my daughter after the Loch Ness Monster!?" she roared out shoving him into a tree.

Jake got up as Leah and Seth came up to see what was going on. "You know me, Bella. I just want Renesmee to be safe, happy, and healthy. I will be her protector, brother, friend, uncle… whatever she needs right now. There are no romantic feelings for her, though that may change in like 18 years I really can't be sure. I just want what you want for her. Just to be safe and happy." Jake said waving Leah and Seth off.

Bella sighed a small huff, then as she calmed down she had one more thing to say. "Okay, but Jacob, if you even so much as cross a line in telling me what to do with my own daughter, or get inappropriate with her before a reasonable time, I will kill you without hesitation! Do you understand?"

Jacob nodded in agreement. I have to say, for a newborn, Bella was doing just as well as if not better than Charlie did. She is controlling her emotions very well. I can also see that the 'Momma Bear' in her was very scary for those on the receiving end of it. I am so glad I get to spend eternity with this amazing woman.

Carlisle and Jasper were very pleased with Bella's self-control, and noted that it had to be a small gift in order to be like that. It is kind of parallel to Carlisle's compassion that he carried over with him into this existence, so we just left it at that. The one thing I was hoping for was the shot at reading Bella's mind, but I still couldn't do that. I guess I will just have to keep asking her what she is thinking after all.

As we were all headed back into the house, we heard the phone ringing. Jasper was the one to answer it. "Hello? Yes ma'am, Bella is right here. Um, Bella, it's your mom." Jasper said as he handed the phone to her.

"Hello, mom. How are you? Oh, how was your appointment? Really? A sister is awesome. What do you mean you have two surprises for me? What!? The twins are fraternal? You mean I am going to have both a baby sister and a baby brother? Wow. Okay, what's the second surprise? You and Phil will be in Seattle next week?! Um, yeah. Just call us and we will figure out a plan. Dad's much better since the food poisoning. Yeah, I will tell him. I love you too, mom. Tell Phil hi, and congratulations for me. Okay. Bye." Bella hung up the phone with a mixed look of shock, fear, and joy on her face.

"Bella, love, what's wrong?" I had hoped we misheard the conversation, but from the look on Bella's face, we heard correctly.

"Phil has a game in Seattle next Friday, and both my mom and Phil want to get together with all of us. Oh, and Alice is right, of course, she is having fraternal twins. A girl and a boy." She said as understanding of her fear hit all of us.

"What are we going to tell her about Renesmee? I mean, how do I explain having a daughter when she knows I wasn't pregnant when we had the wedding?" Bella asked in desperation.

"How about I tell your mother that I had a brother that I didn't know about but he knew about me, and he and his wife were killed in a car accident. As a result of being the next of kin, we agreed to raise our niece as our own daughter." I suggested knowing it was about as close as we could get to answering the unspoken truth.

"I like that idea." Charlie said with a grin on his face. "I mean, she still gets to meet the granddaughter, but in an edited version of the truth, right?" he continued.

As we all discussed what the plan and story was, I could feel Bella starting to relax a bit with all this. There was still one worry on her mind, and that was the fear the Volturi would find out about Renee and Phil. I just hope that we can keep Renee and Phil completely oblivious to our true nature.

 **A/N:**

 **So this is my first story ever on here, and I know things seem kinda out of place in some chapters, but I admit I wrote some of the chapters really late at night. I do hope you are enjoying the story so far, and I am writing a second one. Sorry for the late updates, but went on a weekend camping trip with my daughter for her 18th birthday.**

 **I accept constructive criticism and will think about ideas thrown out to me. For this story, however, I actually prewritten and my daughter dared me to put it on here. Anyway, will update again soon...enjoy and review if you want. :)**


	18. Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18 **:**

(Bella POV)

I was completely taken by surprise with the announcement that Phil had a game in Seattle, and that my mom wanted to get together with all of us, as in the entire Cullen Family, Charlie, and me of course. I was scared that somehow Aro would find out that my mother was around, and try to kill her for just knowing us. I guess Alice picked up on my fears as she suddenly had the glazed over look in her eyes as she was getting a vision.

"Alice, what did you see?" Carlisle asked with concern. Edward stiffened a bit, but then relaxed with my favorite lopsided grin.

"Aro and the kings won't be visiting Washington for quite some time, so we are all perfectly good. Oh, and Irena is going to call in about an hour to apologize to us, and will set up a time to come see all of us. I think we should let Charlie take Renesmee to his house so that Irena doesn't think she is an immortal child." Alice said giving us enough time to make sure that Renesmee was safely tucked away from suspecting eyes.

"I think that we should send a message to Zafrina in the Amazon." Carlisle said.

"Why? What is it that you are thinking Carlisle?" I asked in confusion.

Just then Edward spoke up. "Of course! I know that there are stories of half-breeds, and if we can get the Amazon coven to search for us maybe we can have proof that there are others out there like Renesmee."

I liked the idea, and I really hope that there is more out there. I am so worried about Renesmee, and how fast she is growing. We all were worried about how much time we had with her. It would put my mind at ease if we could know more.

Time flew by, and soon we were making plans on meeting my mom and Phil at their hotel. We had decided that just after lunch was a great time to meet with them so we didn't have to explain why we weren't eating. I had put in dark brown contacts to make my eyes look like the chocolate brown they were in my human life. When we arrived Edward told me that they were excited to meet up with all of us, and to show me the pictures of my siblings.

"Oh Bella, you look so happy. And who is this beautiful little girl you have with you?" My mom gushed as she gave me a hug.

"Well Renee, this is our niece whom we adopted. You see, I had an older brother that found out about me, and he and his wife were killed in a car accident last month. I was contacted by his lawyer to tell me about him, and that he named me as the person to have custody of his daughter. I was shocked when I saw a picture of my brother, his wife, and little Renesmee here." Edward explained with a complete flawless tone of shock in his voice.

"Oh, Edward! I am so sorry for your loss. Did his lawyer tell you how he found you?" My mom asked with sadness.

"Yes, he too was adopted and found out through the agency of my existence. He had just found my address and was planning on coming up to Forks from Portland, Oregon the week after his accident had happened. I am sad that I didn't get the chance to meet him, but from the picture I saw he looked a lot like me in some ways. His wife was a pretty woman with blonde hair and brown eyes. If I didn't know better I would have said that my late sister-in-law could pass for Bella's cousin or something." Edward lied convincingly.

"Well, little Renesmee is absolutely adorable. Bella, are you sure you are okay with this? I mean, you know you are so young, and just newly married. I just want to make sure you aren't getting in over your head here." My mom asked in slight concern.

"I can handle this mom. Seeing as this beautiful girl is the last living blood relative Edward has, I am willing to raise her as my own." I said with a huge smile on my face.

"Well, if anyone can do it, I am sure it's you. You were always an old soul. I was just being a concerned mom. I know you won't make the mistakes I did when I was your age. So, I am a new grandma, and an expecting mom at the same time. This is kind of a nice strangeness." My mom replied with a cheery smile.

(Charlie POV)

At first I wasn't sure how well Renee would buy the story, but I should have known that Edward could make it so convincing. Then when Renee questioned Bella about being ready to be a mom, I almost lost it. Thankfully Renee saved face by telling Bella she was just doing the "concerned mom" thing. We decided to go to a café so Renee could eat again, and so we could have room for all of us to sit and talk comfortably.

As I introduced Sue to Renee, she shocked us all by giving Sue a hug and congratulated us on our engagement. She sure was glowing with happiness in her new life, and was genuinely happy for me. Phil and I had a great conversation about baby things, and I even gave him ideas on things like baby monitors. He was grateful for the advice knowing that as a police officer I could give him my professional opinion on what I thought was a better type. We all had a wonderful time with Renee and Phil.

"So, Sue, what do your kids think about your engagement to Charlie? I mean are they happy or being the rebellious type?" Renee asked politely.

"Oh, they are excited. Since we have been friends with Charlie and Billy Black for years, they are glad that I am at least marrying someone they truly trust." Sue replied.

"Charlie, I want you to know that I am so happy for you. I know things with us weren't so great, and I do take part of the blame, but I always knew you deserved to be happier than we ever were. I don't regret our relationship because we got Bella out of it, but I know I should have waited longer to get married. I wish nothing but a long and happy life for the both of you."

"Thank you, Renee. That means a lot coming from you. I know that you will do well raising your twins. I have never seen you so happy, and know that you have a second chance at motherhood says that you really weren't a bad mother at all. I just know you both will be excellent parents." I replied touched at Renee's thoughtfulness.

(Renee POV)

This has been a day full of surprises, but they were all good ones. I was happy to see that Charlie had a second shot at marriage like I did. He deserved it. After all, Charlie really wasn't a terrible husband. He and I were just too different to stay married. I love the sunny warm weather, and he was just fine living in a tiny rainy town. We really did love each other back then, but in the end, we both knew that we would have been miserable if we stayed married. I never held back about my dislike of gloomy Forks.

I showed Bella and the rest of the Cullens the ultrasound photos, and we gabbed for a few hours. It was nice to see Bella and Edward taking such great care of Renesmee. I could see just how much they loved her, and couldn't help but feel excited for the arrival of my twins. Alice had said that she was helping Sue with the wedding, and was getting along great with Leah in the planning. Phil invited them all to the game tomorrow, but had to respectfully decline as they all had been planning on looking at a few wedding venues to decide on. I had asked if they thought about using the Cullen's house, but Sue had assured me that with most of the tribe coming that she would need a bigger place if they had to move in doors for bad weather. She had explained to us that since her first husband was on the tribal council before he passed away, the seat automatically went to her, so the whole tribe had to be invited. It made sense when she explained it.

Carlisle was ever the doctor when I would wince or get winded, and I could tell that Phil appreciated having him look after me while we were visiting. When Bella had first told me that Edward's father was a doctor, I couldn't help but think how handy that was since she was a complete klutz, and now I am even more grateful now that I am pregnant.

As we were saying our good byes I had asked Bella what she was going to do about college now that she was a mother. She informed me she had already thought of things when she found out about Renesmee, and had arranged to do her classes online. Ever the prepared, Bella made me so proud. We extracted promises from Bella and Edward to come visit after the twins were born, and then we went our separate ways.

When Phil and I went to bed, I told him that for once I felt like things in life were finally getting better for all of us. He readily agreed, and held me as I fell asleep.

(Alice POV)

As I was sitting in the dining room sketching out an outfit to make for Renesmee I had a vison that frightened and shocked me at the same time. In the vision, Renee was going to get a phone call by someone informing her they are a long lost and long distant relative on her father's side. The caller is none other than the Volturi King Marcus. Marcus was out of Italy and in Seattle, they meet up, and sure enough Marcus has a photo of Renee's father from when Renee was just about 8 years old. My vision blurs a bit and then I see Marcus draining a mugger only he doesn't realize Renee just watched him do it until after he disposed of the body. Marcus has Renee and Phil protected and sworn to secrecy. Under Volturi law the royals are protected. That means Renee, Phil and their babies are safe….. and Renee can know about us. Marcus meets with us to make sure Bella is changed, meets Renesmee, and has her under royal protection as well since she is the granddaughter of Renee.

As I snapped out of my vision Edward and Bella came back from a hunt, and Edward was just as shocked as I was. "Carlisle, please call Denali and have them come to Forks. Jacob, call the packs and Jasmine. There has been an interesting new development that we all need to hear." I called out.

"What time frame should I tell Eleazar to been here, Alice?" Carlisle asked as he was dialing.

"Tell him to be here tomorrow. This can't wait too long since Renee and Phil are still in Seattle." I replied. Jacob came into the house to ask what the emergency was. I had informed him it's not bad, but it is very important, and we needed the pack to be here tomorrow for a Cullen family meeting. " I realize that they aren't members of the coven, but since Renesmee is your imprint, and is the granddaughter of Renee they might want to be here for this." I said to him.

Jacob phased, and used the pack mindset to inform the rest of what was going on. He then called Jasmine on the phone and asked her to be here tomorrow. All I know is once I let everyone know what was going on, things would get rather interesting to say the least.

It was about 4 a.m. when I was pulled into another vision, this time Marcus was telling us about another hybrid that lives in Brazil. He had met Nahul while visiting Brazil about fifty years ago. He then informed us that we had nothing to worry about, and that even the lower guard knew of the hybrid. After that vision ended I felt a sense of peace come over me. I knew that from this day on we would not have to worry about Renesmee or the Volturi coming after us for having her around. The peace was so relaxing I didn't realize I had lost track of time until I heard the pack coming into the yard followed by the sound of a car I was sure was the Denali coven coming as well.

(Eleazar POV)

When Carlisle called and said we needed to come to Forks for an emergency family meeting I was scared that the Volturi and found out about Renesmee and thought her to be an immortal child. But when I saw Alice look peaceful, I got confused about this being an emergency. I hope nothing goes wrong with today's news.

"So Alice, what is the big emergency that you had us come out here and with the wolves as well?" I asked in hopes I did not offend the packs.

"Well, first of all, why don't we all sit outside where it will be more comfortable for all of us and then I will tell you about my visions." Alice replied in a chipper tone.

We all moved outside and sat in a circle. It was kind of tense with the wolves, but we all made the effort to be civil to each other for the sake of little Renesmee.

"Okay, the first vision I had was last night about an hour after we got home from Seattle and looking at wedding venues. Apparently Bella is getting her wish so to speak."

"What wish is that?" Seth asked

"Well, while she was pregnant and human she had a dream that our rulers, the Volturi, would allow her mother and step father to know of our kind, but we figured it was just wishful thinking. However, in my vision Renee has received a phone call this morning from Marcus Volturi, informing her that he is a long lost and long distant relative. He is currently in Seattle, and in about two hours, he will feed from a mugger without knowing Renee and Phil just saw it."

"Will he kill Renee and Phil?" Bella asked in fear for her mother.

"No, as a matter of fact, he will have them swear to secrecy about what they saw and agree that if they tell they are to be turned or killed after the twins are adults. Then Marcus will come here to see if Bella has been turned. He will find out about Renesmee, but she will be protected under Volturi law as a royal since she is the granddaughter of Renee." Alice finished to let that sink in.

"What about her being a hybrid? Won't the Volturi think she is an immortal child?" Edward asked with concern. I had to agree with Edward. I was so concerned that they might try to collect her.

"Actually, Marcus met another vampire human hybrid in Brazil about 50 years ago, so he is aware of it being a possibility." Alice stated with ease.

I was intrigued with this news. To know that little Renesmee would be safe was a huge relief. "So, why were we asked to come here if the Volturi isn't a threat?" I asked and saw that the pack was also wondering the same thing.

"Well, it would show that with all of us around, our existence would remain a secret so that Caius will be satisfied." Alice said plainly.

(Renee POV)

After receiving the unexpected phone call, I was excited yet scared to meet this long lost relative. We agreed to meet at a coffee shop down in the hotel lobby. As Phil and I waited for him to arrive, I tried to think about members of my family on my father's side. I just couldn't place anyone I hadn't met. Just then a soft voice broke me out of my thoughts.

"Renee? I am Marcus." The pale man said with a smile.

"Hello, Marcus. Forgive me for being so forward, but how are we related, exactly?" I replied.

Marcus pulled out a photograph of my father and two other guys in it I recognized as my uncles. One of which I knew had passed away when he was just 25. He died in an accident as he was hiking in Italy. He left behind a girlfriend whom he met there and wanted to marry her. Maybe that is how we are related, and how I didn't know about him.

"I know you are surprised with all this, but I am the son of the girl your uncle met in Italy." Marcus said as if reading my thoughts.

"Oh, I am so sorry that you never got to meet him. I only met him once. I was just a year old before he left for Italy." I said in a sorrowful tone.

"It's quite alright. I have a few pictures of the family so I got to see what he looked like." Marcus said.

He did remind me of my Uncle James in so many ways. He was soft spoken, and when Uncle James was a teenager he had such long black hair. My dad said that he went through a phase with the hair. Even his smile reminded me of my dad. I knew from my observations that he was telling the truth about being a relative. It was nice to know that there was a part of my dad's side of the family living in Italy after all. Uncle James said that he wanted to move to Italy to be with his girlfriend. It's so sad he died before getting to marry her.

"Well, Marcus, I am so sorry we have to cut this short, but my husband had to get to practice for his baseball game tonight. Maybe we can meet up for a bit after the game?" I said.

"I would be delighted to meet up later tonight. It will give me a chance to go see an old pen pal while you are at the game." Marcus said with a smile.

"Okay, how about we meet up at the café around the corner around 11:00?" I asked.

"Sounds great to me. Oh, and by the way, my dear cousin, I wish your husband luck at his game." Marcus said as we parted ways. For once, I felt like I could connect with my father again on some levels.

(Marcus POV)

How nice it was to finally make my existence known to Bella's mother. I had felt the connection between Bella and myself when she came to Volterra to save Edward from himself, and after their departure from the castle I showed Aro my thoughts. He was intrigued by what he saw. He had informed me of the new born army headed for Forks, Washington and that he would send Jane and Alec to monitor the situation. I was happy to hear that they had survived the attack. Aro was not pleased with Jane when she decided to allow the Cullens to face off with the new born army. She did report that Bella had a date set for her transformation, so after we received the wedding announcement from the Cullens we knew that it would be important to see how soon after the wedding Bella would be turned.

One of the lower guards had been in Seattle to make absolutely sure the new born army had fully been dealt with when he said he saw the Cullens visiting with two humans. Aro read his thoughts, then shared his findings with me. I knew I had to get to Seattle quickly so that I could make sure the child he saw wasn't an immortal and that Bella had been changed. I decided that this trip could serve the purpose of letting Renee know I was watching out for her in a way, as well as checking up on the Cullens. I also knew that the seer, Alice, would see me coming. I wanted them to know I meant no harm unless it was necessary.

It wasn't surprising to see the Cullens outside their house waiting for me when I got there. What surprised them was the fact that I only had two guards with me.

"Hello, Carlisle. I know that your Alice has seen my visit. May I see your granddaughter?" I asked with my hands held up in a non-threatening way.

"Of course, Marcus. Edward, will you bring Renesmee forward so Marcus can see that she is not an immortal?" Carlisle responded evenly.

As Edward brought his daughter forward, I could see the amazing beauty she really is. I heard her heartbeat and could hear the pulsing of her blood. I smiled in a friendly way as I knelt down to her eye level.

"Hello, Renesmee. I am Marcus Volturi. It is nice to meet you young one." I said as I took her tiny hand in mine. She looked to be 2 years old so I know she was just about a month old in reality.

"Hi, Marcus" her sweet voice chimed back. She hid herself behind Edward's leg after that.

I stood slowly and took an offered seat. "I suppose Alice had told you of the purpose of my visit?" I asked them.

"Yes, and the relation to Bella and her mother as well." Carlisle stated.

"Excuse me, Marcus, but exactly how are we related." Bella asked respectfully.

"Well, it really started back about a month before Aro turned me. I had a cousin who left to seek a new land, and eventually he found it. After he arrived, he married and had children. Over the past two millenniums I had kept track of his family. For a while I stopped, but started up again after Bella came to Volterra to save Edward. I felt the bonds between myself and young Bella here. After you left Italy, I shared this information with Aro. Imagine our surprise when a lower guard came to Seattle to make sure the new born army was indeed dealt with and he discovered your charming daughter." I saw the panicked look in Bella's eyes so I had to continue so she could be reassured.

"Aro is aware of your daughter, and he will trust my judgement when I return. I have met a vampire human hybrid in Brazil, so there is no need to worry." I said to put them at ease.

"Marcus, forgive me, but do you know about how long my daughter will live?" Edward asked.

"Ah, yes. She had the potential to live like an immortal, however, there are things that can take her from this world just like we can be. Have no fear, Edward, I am sure that with the protection of your coven, the Denali coven, and this strange relationship with these shape shifters, she will live a very long time." I replied.

I then turned to the wolf sitting closest to Bella and Edward so I could address him.

"Young one, if you feel more comfortable staying in wolf form, I understand, but I still would like to have a conversation with you."

Edward looked at him, then at me and began to speak. "He says, with all respect, I prefer to stay in my wolf form. It is easier for me to protect myself, my pack, and the Cullen's this was."

I nodded in understanding. I knew that Edward would be translating his answers for him. "Have the Cullen's told you of my gift?" I inquired.

"Yes. You see relationships or bonds between people." Was his simple reply.

"Good. I can tell that you and Rensemee are meant for each other. You will one day make her a happy wife. I also see that you are the true alpha of your tribe. With the division that happened just before the wedding of Bella and the birth of Renesmee, you have taken your rightful place as alpha. The other thing is I see something that you weren't expecting. You have a family bond to the Cullens." I said to him. I noticed the shock in his facial expression as I informed him of what I saw.

"Thank you, Marcus, for sharing this information. I hope that your coven respects my tribe and our boundaries for which we set." He said.

"Indeed we shall." I said as I nodded my head. "Bella, I am happy to see that immortality suites you well. As your many distant cousin, I hereby state that under Volturi law, you and your coven are protected as royalty. No harm will come to you or any of your coven mates. That protection extends to the shape shifters due to the bond between your daughter and the wolf." I announced as I stood.

"Well, it's been nice visiting with you. I must be getting back to Seattle. I will inform my brothers of Bella's transformation, and that the beautiful daughter is a hybrid. No laws have been broken, and no harm shall come to you all." I said as I made my way out. With a wave I was off towards Seattle once again.

I made my way back to Seattle, and decided to hunt before meeting back up with Renee. I found a mugger following a small group of people, one of them happen to be none other than Renee. That angered me so I made quick work of grabbing him and draining him. I was unaware, however, that Renee saw me at the last minute and followed into the alley and witnessed me drain the mugger.

"Uh.. uh.. Marcus, w-w-wh-what are you?" She asked now frightened.

"Never fear me, Renee. I will tell you, however, you must make me a promise in return. If I tell you, you have to promise that you will never tell another human my secret because if you do you will either have to join my kind or face death. I will protect you as much as I can, but my brothers will want reassurance that you will not tell anyone. Do I have that promise?" I replied with a serious tone.

"Phil and I both promise to not tell anyone about your secret." Renee said in a matter of fact tone.

"Alright, we should probably go to your hotel room for this privet matter. I assure you no harm will come to you as you are my family." I told her with a genuine smile and comfort. We walked to the hotel, and up to their room, then I told them to have a seat for this would be quite the shock to them.

"It started around 1350 B.C when I was about 20 years of age. My cousin was getting married, and I was to attend the wedding. Someone had attacked me, and for three days I felt as if I were in a fire pit being burned alive. I found out that I had in fact been turned into a vampire. It is though my cousin, Renee, that we are actually related. For thousands of years I have watched my cousin's family evolve, and I was saddened when each one died, but over joyed when a new life was brought forward. I joined two others of my kind, Aro, and Caius. We are known as the Volturi, and we are the vampire kings. We make sure the laws of our kind are obeyed. The biggest law is that we must keep our existence a secret. The reason I can tell you is that you are a direct descendant to me. I can protect you from being turned or killed, but if you tell anyone I will have no choice but to either kill or turn who you tell. Your children are also protected." I paused to let this information sink in.

Renee was quicker to respond than I thought though. "So, you are saying that you are my many generations old cousin?"

"Yes. I know it's hard to believe, Renee, but it is the truth. If you doubt me, just ask young Bella." I knew that telling her this would pull her into a full believer.

"What does Bella have to do with this?" Renee asked then her facial expression changed. I could tell she was putting things together in her mind. "Wait, you are ice cold to the touch. The Cullen's are ice cold to the touch, and suddenly Bella is ice cold to the touch. I thought it was just the weather causing the cold feeling…." Renee said as she trailed off in thought again.

"Bella has been involved with the supernatural world since she moved to Forks, and got involved with the Cullen's. You should give her a call to hear her story, but know that she knew that she had to chose to become a vampire or die. She does not regret her choice, and I know that Edward and Bella are true soul mates." I informed her.

"What do you mean you know that Bella and Edward are true soul mates?" Renee asked with a pure curiosity.

"You see, some vampires have gifts. Abilities that they had as a human, but became stronger as a vampire. I can see bonds or relationships between people. Bella and Edward a true soul mates. You and Phil are true soul mates, and your twins are going to have a close relationship with not only Bella, but the entire Cullen coven as well. They will be happy and loved." I said in a simple reply.

"Huh. That is interesting." Renee said just as the phone rang. "Please excuse me, Marcus, while I answer the phone." She said to me.

"Hello? Oh, hello Bella. Yes, he is here. Um, yeah, this does have speaker. Okay. Alright, Bella, you are on speaker." Renee said.

"Marcus, did you tell my mother about our existence yet?" Bella asked.

"I have told her about what I am, and about Aro and Caius. I had mentioned you were apart of the supernatural world." I stated.

"Bella, dear, are you okay with all of this? I mean, are you happy?" Renee asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I am, Mom. Do you want me to tell you my story?" Bella replied.

"Only if you are comfortable telling me and Phil." Renee said to her.

"Okay, I know that Phil has the next week off from games. Will you both come to the Cullen's so we can tell you our stories?" Bella asked

Phil was the next to speak. "Bella, your mother and I will be there in the morning. Will it be okay if we stay either at Charlie's or with you?" Phil asked

"We have more than enough room for you here Phil, Mom, so it won't be a problem." Bella said.

I decided to inform the group that I was needing to get back to Italy. "Well, it has been a pleasure visiting with you all, but I must be getting back to Italy. Don't worry about the safety of young Renesmee or your mother and step-father, Bella. You all are under my protection as direct descendants. I will bid you a farewell." I said as I made my way out of the hotel.

(Renee POV)

After Marcus left, I made final plans to meet Bella tomorrow at the Cullen's house, then ended the call. I have to admit I am a bit thrown by all of this, and neither Phil nor I know just what to think. I know one thing is for sure, I can't wait to hear the full story with Bella.


	19. Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19 **:**

(Renee POV)

After Phil and I had breakfast, we checked out of our hotel, and drove the 4 hours back to Forks. I was wondering why Bella would chose this kind of life that Marcus described. Bella hated being around blood. She passed out at the very sight of blood. That's why I was wondering why she would chose to become a vampire if blood appalled by the very thing they live off of. I was brought out of my inner thoughts with Phil telling me we were about to turn on the gravel drive that led to the Cullen's house.

Bella and Edward were outside to greet us. "Hi, Mom. How are you feeling? Do you need something to eat, drink, or do you want to recline while you are in the living room?" Bella asked me. She is still the ever loving and caring girl, so I can't be upset about her new life.

"Oh, Bella, I am so hungry. I only ate 4 hours ago." I said.

"Well, Esme wanted to cook for you, so you have a nice stack of pancakes, blueberry muffins, bacon, and eggs waiting for you." Bella said.

"That is very kind of her to do for me. Phil, hon, do you want anything to eat?" I said.

"No, Renee, sweetheart. I am not hungry yet. I will let you eat. I know not to come between a pregnant woman and a meal." Phil said as we walked into the house and to take their luggage to their room.

"Bells, where is Renesmee?" I asked.

"She is taking a nap, Mom." Bella replied

"Okay. Well, will you talk with me while I eat? I have so many questions to ask you." I said.

"Mom, I will keep you company while you eat, but I would rather wait until after you eat to tell you the answers to the questions. All the Cullen's will tell you their stories, and I warn you, some of them are not pleasant to hear. Especially Rosalie's." Bella said.

"Alright. Oh, hello, Esme. I didn't see you standing there." I said

"It's fine, Renee. I was only just in the hall actually." Esme said with a warm smile.

I dug into the amazing food Esme prepared for me. I didn't think I was that hungry, but the 4 pancakes, 2 blueberry muffins, 3 eggs, and the 6 pieces of bacon were gone by the time I got full. Bella then lead me to the living room and to a nice cushy recliner next to the couch Phil was sitting on. Apparently Renesmee woke from her nap and was sitting next to Phil. It had only been 4 days since the last time we saw her, and she already looked to be 2 years old. I was shocked to say the least. Just then, Carlisle came in with the other members of his family.

"I know Marcus told you about us, and after speaking to Aro and Caius on the phone, they also agreed that we should tell you our individual stories. I will start with my story, and then each member of the family will take it from there." Carlisle said.

(Carlisle POV)

After getting everyone in the room, and letting Renee and Phil how we will proceed with the explaining I sat, and began my story.

"I was born in 1640 in London, England. I am not even sure roughly about what month since there wasn't an accurate way to track the days back then. I was the son of an Anglican pastor. My mother passed away giving birth to me, so we were the only family each other had.

My father was a passionate man, who was often chasing around hunting vampires or anyone he suspected of being a vampire. As he got older, he passed the job down to me. It was 1663 when he gave me the job. Some of the towns people came with me for the hunt. I came across some actual vampires living in the sewers. An older one that was kind of weak came up, grabbed me, bit me, and killed two of the hunters. I knew things were changing for me, and that I had to hide. I hid in a near by cellar, covered myself in a pile of potatoes, and didn't make a sound for the agonizing three days it took to turn. When I woke up to this existence, I knew I didn't want to harm another person, so I ran away from town.

I hid in caves away from the human population. One day as I was hiding in a cave, a heard of deer passing by. My thirst for blood was so overwhelming I let the vampire instincts take over and attacked them without thinking. After I fed from them, I realized that I could live off of animal blood and wouldn't have to take a human life to survive.

In the early 1700s I swam the English Channel and found my way to Italy where I found the Volturi. I stayed with them for a couple decades. Aro, Caius, and Marcus tried to get me to feed from our 'natural' food source, and I tried to get them to try my way of feeding. We ended up agreeing to disagree on our feeding habits. Aro jokingly called me a vegetarian since I refused to feed from a human. The diet term just stuck with me.

Anyway, after the couple of decades I spent with them, I parted on friendly terms with the Volturi as I wanted to travel to the new world. I attended colleges at night, earning several degrees, but I found some sense of peace being a doctor. I was helping humans, not hurting them, so I felt that being a healer would be a form of redemption for being a monster.

As time went on, and newer technologies were being made, I kept going back to college to keep up the training in the medical field. I started to get lonely as time went on, and felt that I could use some companionship. The problem was that there weren't any vampires around that shared my views on the diet. I ended up in Chicago in 1918, and just in time for the Spanish Influenza epidemic. That is where I found Edward. I will end here, and let Edward tell his story." I said looking at Renee and Phil who looked in awe of my story.

(Edward POV)

I took a breath since mentioning my real mother was painful for me. I once struggled with being a vampire, but since finding Bella, I have realized that I really have a soul.

"Well, I was born June 20, 1901 to Edward and Elizabeth Masen. I don't remember much about my childhood, but I know that when the Spanish Flu hit Chicago when I was 17 years old, I knew things were going to be hard for my family. My father got hit with it first and eventually died of the infection first. It took a few months for both my mother and myself to get it next. Both my mother and I tired to treat our symptoms as best we could, but ultimately we both ended up in the hospital.

I don't remember who the day time doctor was, but I do remember that Carlisle was our night time doctor. My mother was getting worse by the hour, and at one point I know she turned to Carlisle and asked him to use all his power to save me. I don't know how, but I just feel like she knew his secret, and begged Carlisle with her dying breath that he would keep me in this world. She died just minutes after making her plea to Carlisle. I knew I wasn't too far behind her in death. Carlisle made sure nobody else was around, then he whispered into my ear telling me that everything will be alright. Then he turned my head and bit down on my neck. The venom was painful, and I suddenly felt I was being set on fire from the inside out. Carlisle apologized to me, and left the room. From what he told me, he took my mother's remains to the morgue, and then took me to his house for the remainder of my change.

At first I was confused at why I was allowed to live per say, and my mother allowed to die, but it didn't matter. She was gone, and technically so was Edward Anthony Masen. Another thing that occurred to both Carlisle and I was that I was able to hear the thoughts of the others around us. It was discovered that I was 'gifted', for the lack of a better term, of mind reading. It may be a 'gift' that can come in handy for some things, but it can be quite difficult to tune it all out. Anyway, it was just Carlisle and myself for about three years. In 1921 we were in Wisconsin and came across Esme. I think I should let her tell her story now. But first, would you like a snack, Renee? I can hear your stomach lightly growling." I finished.

"Oh, thank you Edward. Yes, how about some pizza. I am sure Phil is starting to get hungry now, too." Renee replied.

"I ordered you two large pizza's. One pepperoni for Phil, and one Sausage for you, Renee" Charlie chimed in.

"Thank you, Charlie. That was very considerate of you to do for us." Phil thanked Charlie in surprise.

(Esme POV)

I took a deep unneeded breath as Edward mentioned the introduction to my story. It was so long ago, yet at times it seems just like yesterday that my reason for living was taken away from me. After Charlie ordered pizza for Renee and Phil, and we got them something to drink, I was encouraged by Renee to tell my story.

"I will tell you this now, it isn't a happy story, but my 'ending' turned out better than I had hoped for. Well, I was born Esme Anne Platt in 1895. My hometown is Columbus, Ohio. I don't remember my parents, but I do remember being somewhat rebellious about behaving as a respectable young lady should. I climbed trees, and acted much like one of the boys at times. It was 1911, and I was just 16 when I ended up falling out of a tree I had climbed much to my family's annoyance. I ended up breaking my leg and was treated by Dr. Carlisle Cullen. I never mentioned it to anyone at the time, but the way Carlisle made me feel back then was nothing short of amazing. He was interested in what I had to say, and treated me like I was worth something. It was too bad his stay in Columbus was short. I couldn't get him out of my mind, even after he left town.

Eventually all my friends were starting to marry off, and I started to dream about falling in love myself, but never found anybody that could measure up to the wonderful man Carlisle is. My ideas of what I wanted to do with my life and my father's weren't the same, and so he married me off to the son of a friend of his, Charles Evenson. Charles was several years older than me, but I had to agree to marry him just to please my father. I wish I hadn't, but there was no turning back. Charles was an abusive man. He hid it well from the public eye, but in privet, he was a monster. When World War I started, Charles left to go fight. It was a major relief that he left. However, when he returned unscathed from war in 1919, it was a bigger nightmare than before. Soon after his return I became pregnant, and I knew I had to get away. There was absolutely no way I was going to bring a baby into the abusive house, so I stayed with a cousin in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Unfortunately, Charles learned where I was, and I once again had to flee for my life. I fled to Ashland, Wisconsin where I decided to pose as a war widow so I could start a new life. I became a schoolteacher to support myself and my unborn child.

I knew I loved my baby more than anything in the world, no matter who the father was, but once again I was met with heart break. Just two days after my son was born, he died of lung fever. I had never felt so depressed and lost in my life. I felt there was no escape from the pain I would no doubt face if I went back to Charles, and since my son was my only reason to live, I felt I had no other option than to kill myself. I walked to a cliff outside of town and jumped, hoping to join my son on the other side. I had regained consciousness in excruciating pain, however, no matter the amount of pain I was in, I was amazed to see none other than Dr. Carlisle Cullen. I had no idea if I was in Heaven or in Hell, but I was sure the pain I suffered physically was just as bad as I suffered mentally. After I woke up again, I felt different. Carlisle came over to me and had explained that he turned me into a vampire in order to save my life. Carlisle had thought that I would be angry with him, but much to his surprise, I wasn't mad. I adjusted to this new life and the challenges it brought. I struggled a bit with human blood at first, but over came that.

The one thing I knew for sure was that Esme Anne Platt Evenson died in 1921, and Esme Anne Platt Evenson Cullen was changed and married to her true soul mate. The other thing I knew for sure was I had never lost my maternal instincts. Since I was physically older than Edward, I truly did see him as my son, and he graciously accepted me as his mother as he did with Carlisle as his father. We moved from place to place for a while until we ended up in New York state. This is were I end my story, and Rosalie tells hers. I would like to say this, though, my story and Rosalie's are both the hardest to hear. Please bare with her as she does struggle to tell it." I said to a stunned Renee and Phil.

"Oh, Esme, you sweet woman. How much you have survived, and became a great second mother to my Bella. She is truly a blessed woman to have you in her life." Renee said as she sobbed lightly into a tissue. The pizza had just arrived, so it was great timing for us. It gave Rose a chance to ready herself to tell Renee and Phil her heartbreaking story.

(Rosalie POV)

I had snuggled into Emmett's side as I knew Esme's story was coming to a close and around to mine. We had talked about this last night, and I knew I was going to have to tell Bella's mom about my story. I was both dreading it as well as looking forward to it at the same time. When Emmett asked me why I was looking forward to it, I told him it was because I could share that no matter how 'perfect' we seemed to be, this life is not all rainbows, kittens, and unicorns. The pizza Charlie ordered for Renee and Phil arrived just as Esme's story came to a close, so we decided to take a break for the humans to eat.

Our break lasted about 45 minutes before we were all called back into the living room. I sat in between Emmett and Jasper since they both knew this was going to be hard and painful for me to do. I let them both know I appreciated the gesture. I knew that Jasper sat on the other side of me so if he had to place his hand on me so he could give me maximum comfort with his gift. I took a shaky breath, closed my eyes, and began.

"Like Esme said, my story is harder to tell and hear. Bella knows this for a fact since she heard it before graduation. I was born in 1915 as Rosalie Lillian Hale in Rochester, New York. My father was a banker, and my mother was the typical socialite house wife.

It was late 1933, and I was 18 years old, my parents took such pride in my beautiful looks, and knew that any man would be lucky to have me, but so few deserved me. The one man whom my father thought to be the perfect match for me was Royce King II. Royce was the most eligible bachelor and the son of the richest man in Rochester. Even though I wanted to be married, there was one thing I wanted more than anything, a baby of my own.

My best friend, Vera, had married a second class gentleman and was living in a smaller house than I would have dared live in, but when she told me she was expecting, I was jealous for the first time in my life. When Vera's son, Henry, was born I went to visit her. I thought I was jealous before, but when I met little Henry, I was instantly more jealous than I ever thought I could be. I thought that I would never have what Vera had, since Royce hadn't purposed yet, but he surprised me with an engagement ring not long after Henry was born.

It was about a week before my wedding, I had just left Vera's house a bit late. I thought about calling my father to pick me up, but I really wasn't that far from home so I walked. I was almost home when I saw Royce and some of his unsavory friends standing around. Royce called me over to introduce me to them, when I noticed they were all drunk. Royce said something to one of his friends about me being a 'looker', but the man just smirked and said it was hard to tell with all my clothes on. Now, it was cold outside, and I wanted nothing to do with Royce or his drunk friends, so I told Royce I would see him the next day, preferably sober. As I turned to leave, Royce grabbed my arm and forced me to face his friends.

He began to say that his friends needed to approve of my 'looks' so they took their turns gang raping me, beating me, and then left me for dead in the street. As I was drifting in and out I heard Royce say that at the rate he was breaking women, he may never get married. His friends laughed, and said it was time to go find a new future Mrs. Royce King II. Believe me, I really wanted to be dead, but Carlisle found me. He smelled all the blood. He bandaged me up the best he could, but took me to his house anyway. He realized I was near death, so he decided to change me, thinking he was helping me. I was so angry with him for changing me, but I did see one good thing about this new life. I was able to get my revenge on Royce and his friends. I saved Royce for last so he would know I was coming for him. He was held up in some hotel room, officers protecting the door, and a bottle of booze in his hand.

When I killed him, I was wearing a wedding dress to make my point. I was a bit theatrical back then. After my revenge, I never hid my dislike for this life. I was forever frozen at 18, never aging or changing, never able to have children, and getting to grow old surrounded my grandchildren. It's those possibilities I miss the most, but thanks to Bella, I get a small taste of the life I longed for. Things got better for me when we moved to Tennessee, and I found Emmet." As I finished my story I saw that Renee was crying.

I asked Jasper to go comfort Renee so she could calm down and not put her babies in distress. Jasper walked over and placed a comforting hand on Renee's shoulder and send her waves of calm to help her stop crying. She thanked Jasper for his concern, and regained her composure.

"Renee, would you like to stop for today, or are you okay to hear the rest of our stories? Carlisle asked fully concerned.

"I'm okay, Carlisle. Thank you. We can continue with your stories. I find them actually interesting." Renee replied with a slight blush.

"Well then, this brings us to Emmet's story." I said looking at my mate.

(Emmett POV)

It hurts me every time to hear my Rosie tell her story, but I look at the woman she is, and all I see is a survivor. She makes me so proud to be her mate. I knew that even Phil was upset by Rose's story, and held a new respect for her. He nor Renee looked at my Rose and pitied her. No, they looked at her and saw what I saw, a survivor, just like Esme.

"Okay, enough of this sadness. It's time to hear just how the awesomeness that is me came to be a big scary vampire." I said wagging my eyebrows for full comical effect. It worked because the atmosphere was lighter.

"So, I was born Emmett McCarty in 1915 in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. I am part of a large Scotch-Irish family, and to my knowledge, an only child. I was rebellious and wild, but I was also an excellent hunter. I helped my family put food on the table with my hunting skills, and although I was wild, I was a big help.

The year was 1935, I was 20 years old, and on a routine hunting trip up in the Smoky Mountains. Things were going good too, that is, until I met a large black bear that wanted to go rounds with 'The Emmster'. At first I thought I could get the drop on that bear, but he had other plans for me. He made the move to attack, and although I put up a good fight, the bear was better. I was being mauled by that stupid bear when I saw a beautiful angel with long golden blonde hair.

The bear took a few swipes at her, but that dumb ole' bear was no match for my angel. I knew that with the amount of damage the bear did to me, I was a goner. At some point I blacked out, but when I came to again, the beautiful angel begged some dude to help me the way he helped her.

The dude bent over me, and told me not to fear anything, but what was about to happen would be the most pain I had ever been in. Yeah, like that's going to keep me calm.

Anyway, I felt some sort of pressure on my neck, then I felt the most horrible pain imaginable. I felt like I was tossed into the pits of hell, and was being burned from the inside out. I remember screaming like I was being ignored, and thrashing around to try to put the fire out. All that did was cause more pain.

I knew I was getting closer to the end of the pain, because I heard my angel's voice say it was almost time for me to wake up. Not long after I heard that, my heart sped up, then suddenly stopped. The thing was, I was still breathing, and could hear things far better than before.

When I looked into my angel's eyes, I knew that there was no other woman on the Earth more beautiful than her. When she introduced herself and her family, I knew that I just had to marry this goddess of an angel. Ever since then, I have been married to my soul mate, Mrs. Rosalie Lillian Hale Cullen McCarty." I finished with a smirk.

"Um, wow, Emmet. That was quite the opposite of what I was expecting to hear." Renee said with a stunned expression on her face. At that point we all just busted out laughing.

"Yeah, Mom. Leave it to Emmet to just go with it when telling his story." Bella said while handing Renesmee off to my Rosie. "I guess that brings us to Alice, so we will hear what she remembers." Carlisle said as we turned our attention to our resident psychic.

(Alice POV)

I sat on Jasper's lap and just leaned back for some quality snuggles as I was getting ready to tell what little I know of my story.

"Okay, first, my story will actually be the shortest due to the fact that I have absolutely no memory of my human life. We did piece together some information about my life, but not a lot, I'm afraid.

I was born Mary Alice Brandon in 1901 in Biloxi, Mississippi. I know that the year I was turned was 1920, and I was 19. I don't know who turned me, but I do know I woke up all alone.

The bits we managed to find was from a nomad named James. He let it slip that he knew me from my human life, and that I was the one human who got away from him. You see, each vampire has what is called a singer. The blood of this human is like a drug the vampire has to have, and they will stop at nothing just to have the blood. There are a few exceptions to this, however.

After the information that was given, I was able to do some research on my family. My parents were middle class, and my father was a pearl trader for the jewelry business. I had a little sister named Cynthia who was about nine years younger than me.

I apparently had the gift of foresight, and at first my family and friends thought it was amusing. I had warned a friend not to marry the man she was engaged to, due to his family history of being insane. This put a stain on her marriage, and she blamed me for it. As I got older, my visions weren't always right, and I was made fun of.

When I saw bad things about to happen, I tried to prevent them, but they happened anyway. Some of the town thought I was a witch, and talked about me behind my back.

When was a bit older, I had the most terrifying vision of my mother being murdered. Then another vision came in clearer. I saw a man in a Model T running my mother's buggy off the road. When my vision happened, my mother had already left the house. I ran as fast as I could, but I could see I was already too late. My mother's buggy went down a steep drop just outside of town. Her death was ruled and accident, but I knew otherwise. I tried to get people to listen to me, but they didn't want the witch's point of view.

My father eventually remarried and I had bad feelings about my stepmother. I tried to tell him this, but then I had a vision of my father paying off the man who murdered my mother. I realized that my father wanted my mother murdered. Then my vision showed the man who murdered my mother standing over me with a knife. I rand to my aunt and uncle's house, but they still blamed me for my cousin's death, and had tried to drive me away. I ran to the Marshal's office, but my aunt and uncle beat me there. They told him I had gone mad, so they threw me in an asylum. I had endured such torture of electroshock therapy, and that caused me to lose my memories.

I had made at least one friend there, and he turned out to be a vampire. I had a vision of this nomad, James, and told my friend all about it. He made the plan take me away and hide me, but James was closing in on us. I guess I fell asleep or something, but when I woke up, I was a vampire, and very much alone. My transformation had the same effect on me as the electroshock therapy. I had no memory of being in the asylum. Now since I was gifted with foresight as a human, it only intensified as a vampire. I am a seer, but my visions are based on what a person decided. I am not happy that there are holes in my visions, but at least it has done some good.

It was a vision I had that had me in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1948. I was to be at a diner, and there I was going to meet my true soul mate, and that he and I would end up meeting a coven of vampires that hunted animals and not humans.

I know that my story seems horrible, but to be honest, I only know what I know due to the research I had done." I finished with a smile.

"How did you know to look into your history if you woke alone?" Phil asked with genuine curiosity.

"We will answer that in a little while. I promise." Bella said now looking a bit uncomfortable.

"Alright. So, I guess that brings us to you, Jasper?" Phil asked.

"Indeed it does." Jasper replied.

(Jasper POV)

I took a moment to make sure that Renee and Phil were comfortable, and had plenty of snacks and something to drink, as well as bathroom breaks before I got myself settled to tell my story.

"First, I want to tell you that my 'up bringing' wasn't quite the same as my adoptive siblings. And secondly, I am the second oldest vampire in the Cullen Coven.

I was born Jasper Whitlock in 1844 in Houston, Texas. I don't quite remember much of my human life, except that I was almost 17 years old when the Civil War broke out. I lied about my age and volunteered to join the Confederate Army. I quickly rose through the ranks, getting promoted over older, more experienced men. People thought me to be charismatic, and at the age of 19, I became the youngest Major in the Texas Calvary.

In 1863, at the beginning of the Battle of Galveston, I was charged with the duty of escorting women and children to safety in Houston. I was on my way back to Galveston when I met three beautiful women, and immediately offered them my aid. Their names were Nettie, Lucy, and Maria. They had asked me my name, and like a true southern gentlemen, I took my hat off, and told them.

Everything inside me was telling me I was in danger, and that I should run, but they were only women I kept telling myself. I still remember the words Maria spoke as she approached me. 'I sure hope you survive this, because you will be of great use to me' then she grabbed my face, leaned it sideways so she could gain access to my neck. I felt the pain of being bitten, but what hurt more was the fiery inferno within my body. When I awoke, I was told I was a vampire, and that I was to train other newborn vampires how to fight so Maria could gain more feeding territory. Maria was smart, and quickly made me her second in command. I soon discovered I had the gift of being an empath. I could control emotions, and manipulate them to get the results Maria wanted. I became the most feared vampire in the southern vampire wars. In the vampire world, I am known as the 'God of War'. It's a title that I am not really proud of today, but back then it served me well.

Anyway, not only was I in charge of training the newborns, I was also in charge of disposing of them after a year. You see, a vampire is at their most lethal, and strongest in the first year of their existence, so it was a constant thing. I could feel everything they felt. The fear, the pain.. it was all becoming just too much.

There was a man that I turned, named Peter, who I quickly took a liking to. Maria noticed that he was very skillful, so he became my Captain. Peter saw the new group of newborns, and felt very strong feelings for one in particular. Her name is Charlotte. When Charlotte's usefulness came to a close, Maria ordered me to kill her. Peter took a defensive crouch in front of her, and begged me to let her go. Something inside of me snapped, and I softened my eyes. I told Peter to take Charlotte and run. Maria wasn't too happy with me for that, but I took my punishment like a champ.

A few years past, and I was visited by Peter and Charlotte one day. Peter had told me of life in the North. No territory wars, now constant killings, just peace and freedom. He came back for me, and without a backwards glance, I ran away with Peter and Charlotte. We roamed around the Northern states for several years, enjoying each other's company. Peter, he has a gift to, though he won't admit it's a gift. He has a bit of psychic abilities of his own. He gets feelings or something telling him about things, and one day he told me that we needed to go to Philadelphia. In 1948 we arrived in Philadelphia. Peter and Charlotte wanted some alone time, so they went off to hunt on their own. It began to rain, so I just ducked into this little café, and the most beautiful woman spoke to me. She said I had kept her waiting long enough. Being raised to be respectful, I gave her my apologies. She then introduced herself, and told me that she saw a vision of us joining up with a coven of vampires that only hunted animals. I informed her that I had to wait for my friends before I left, and she had no problems with that. Peter and Charlotte came back, and told me that this would be a great opportunity for the change in my life I wanted.

In 1950 Alice and I finally met up with Esme and Rosalie. Scared the hell out of them too when Alice called them by name. She explained about her gift and what she saw. Carlisle, Edward, and Emmett were out hunting, and when they came back they found us talking with Esme and Rosalie. Carlisle said that in order to stay with his coven, we had to hunt animals instead of humans. I was more than willing to make the change, even though it was going to be hard for me since I had hunted humans for over a hundred years, but I manage just fine most of the time." I finally ended my story.

"You were really in the Civil War?" Phil asked in awe. Of all the things I said, this is the one thing he was stuck on. What a strange human.

"Yes, sir, I was." I replied.

"Wow, Jasper. What an extraordinary life you have had." Renee said.

"Thank you all for sharing your stories. I know it must have been hard to tell us." Renee said with a yawn.

"Will you tell us about James?" Phil asked.

"We will tell you tomorrow. It's late, and I bet Renee could use the sleep." Carlisle stated.

"Yeah, I sure can. Well, good night all. See you in the morning." Phil said as he ushered his tired wife to bed.


	20. Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20 **:**

(Bella POV)

I was scared about telling my mom about James. This means that she would know the truth about why I ended up broken and bleeding in Phoenix. Edward seemed to sense my unease, because he came up behind me, put his arms around me, and murmured into my hair about running a bath for me to relax in.

I thanked him for being such a wonderful husband. He chuckled and gave me my favorite lopsided grin. He led me to the bathroom, and soon we were relaxing in the tub while Renesmee slept a peaceful sleep.

The morning came, and after Renesmee was dressed, we went over to the main house from our little cottage. We had just barely entered the house when we heard Renee thank Esme once again for cooking breakfast. I laughed at that, and made our presence known.

"Morning everyone." I called out. Renesmee ran up to Esme, and made the up motion with her hands. Esme just giggled and picked her up, and placed her in her high chair.

"Oh, Bella, I now understand why you raved over Esme's cooking to me in your emails. She is an absolutely amazing cook." My mom said as she stuffed her mouth full of Esme's awesome omelet. Phil nodded his agreement. I laughed and then turned to Esme.

"Edward and I are going to hunt. We will try to be back within two hours. Will you look after Renesmee while we are out?" I asked.

"Of course, dear. As a matter of fact I think Rose is wanting some quality time with her anyway. You two go on, and we will see you both when you get back." Esme replied with her warm smile.

We arrived back from our hunt, and with a pile of snacks and some drinks on the side table next to the recliner, we got settled in to continue with the stories of what has gone on here in Forks.

"Alright, mom, you want to know more about James, and when Alice saw him again to get the information to find out about her past." I stated.

"Phil and I both do. Why do I suddenly get the feeling that I am not going to like what you are going to say, since you are the one that mentioned this James character." My mom asked wearily.

"Well, your feeling is correct. Well, I guess I should get started." I stated.

"To sum up, as you know when you and Phil got married, I chose to move here to spend time with Dad. It was my first day at Forks High during lunch that I saw Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett, and Edward. I knew something was a bit different with them, but I couldn't figure out what. It was in biology that I really took noticed something different with them. I knew at lunch time that Edward's eyes were gold, but in biology they were black. He kept looking at me with such hatred and anger, and I wasn't sure what I had done.

Edward was absent from school for about a week, and then he came back. We talked about the weather, and I then asked if he got contacts. He said no, and walked off.

Then the near miss accident in the school parking lot happened, and it was Edward to save me, even though he was clear across the school parking lot. He had gotten to me so fast, and after I asked him how he did it. He tried to convince me that I had no idea what I was talking about since I hit my head.

I went to First Beach at La Push, on the Quileute reservation, with some friends from school. There I was approached by my friend Jacob Black. He and I walked along the beach and I got him to tell me about the legends of his tribe. He told me that his tribe descended from wolves, and the wolves were the protectors of the tribe. They came across 'an enemy clan' that was caught hunting on Quileute lands, the very people were known as 'cold ones'. Those 'cold ones' were none other than the Cullen's.

I ended up going to Port Angeles with Jessica and Angela to dress shop for prom, and I decided to go to a book store to buy a book on Quileute legends. As I was heading to the restaurant to meet back up with Jess and Angela I got surrounded by some men who were intent on raping me." Edward let out a low growl when I reminded him of the incident.

"Anyway, Edward came speeding up, and told me to get into the car. When I did, he stared down the men, then got into the car, gave them a scare like he was going to run them over, then sped off in the opposite direction. After he cooled off, I noticed the time, and told him that I needed to get to the restaurant to meet back up with Angela and Jess. As we got to the restaurant Jess and Angela were leaving, so I flagged them down. Edward asked if he could join us, but they admitted they had already eaten. Edward stated that he thought he should make sure I ate, and that he would take me home afterwards. They thought it was sweet, and we went inside to get a table. The waitress was rude, and kept trying to flirt with Edward, but he dismissed her like she was more of a bother than helpful. I asked what his real motive was for being in Port Angeles, and he refused to tell me. I got up as to leave, but he begged me not to leave. He let out a sigh, and told me he felt protective of me, and when he 'heard' what those men wanted to do to me, that's when things got interesting.

I caught what he said when he mentioned that he 'heard' what they were thinking. I asked if he could read minds, and he confirmed it to me. He gave me a demonstration, and then confessed that he couldn't read my mind. After I ate, he drove me home. I was getting cold, so Edward turned on his heater. As I got warm enough, I stated as so, and we both reached for the heater controls. I noticed his hands were cold, but that's not what took me by surprise. The electric currant that flowed between us was what startled me. I just managed to regain my composure, and mentioned that his hand was so cold. The rest of the ride back to Forks was silent.

After I went to bed, I looked up some things in the book I bought, and then cross referenced what I saw on the internet. I realized that Edward was a vampire, a 'cold one'.

The next day, after school, I looked at Edward giving him the clue I wanted him to follow me. After we were a good distance into the woods, I started to tell him the things I noticed about him. Then I made the bold move to then tell him I knew that he was in fact a vampire. He asked me if I was scared, and I told him being truthful, I told him that I wasn't. He then picked me up, put me on his back, and ran up the mountain to show me why they don't go into the sunlight. After his show of strength and speed, I told him I didn't care. I told him that I was scared he was going to disappear. He then said that I had no idea how long he had been waiting for me.

The next few days passed, and I got to meet the family. I finally told Dad about Edward and I dating, and that he was waiting outside to 'officially' meet dad. Edward met dad, and that we would be playing baseball. Dad, of course, laughed at the thought of me playing baseball, but told me to have fun anyway. I found out that they needed thunder to cover the sounds of them hitting the baseball. Things were going fine with me just watching, but then Alice had a vision, and then yelled for everyone to stop. As I asked what was going on, that was when fear came into play. Three nomadic human drinking vampires were heading our way wanting to join in on the game. Those three were James, his mate Victoria, and another named Laurent. We tried to keep my scent from them, but the wind changed direction and James caught and turned his attention to me. James was a tracker, and has his mind made up on hunting me.

I knew I had to hurt dad to keep him safe, and it was decided we needed to keep James away from Forks and hurting anyone else I loved and cared about. I headed to Phoenix to try to limit any hunting activity to the night time. James had discovered the false trail we laid was indeed false, and then had Victoria break into the school, and found that I was from Phoenix. He then broke into our house back there, and raided our home movies. He made it sound like he had you hostage, and wanted to trade your life for mine. I formed a plan to escape my protective detail and made my way to the old ballet studio I use to go to, and accepted my pending death.

James had to gloat about getting me. He also said that my death wasn't the end of his sick game. He said that he was looking forward to killing Edward as well, and that the one that got away would not be a mark against him for much longer. He had reviled that he knew Alice before she was a vampire. As he kept hurting me, he had mentioned that he knew about her parents, how her mother died, how her father planned to have he killed, and how she was placed into the asylum. He knew that she was his singer, and that he would be doing her family a favor by killing her. Another animal drinker started the change so in turn he killed the other vampire. As he was crushing my leg, Edward came in and began his fight with James. At some point James got away from Edward and bit down on my wrist. Edward started his attack on James again, and then the rest of the Cullen's arrived. Alice had a vision of what James had divulged. It hurt her to see it, and the determination to destroy him came to her. Edward didn't want the change to happen to me, so he bravely faced his worries about me being his singer, and he sucked the venom out of my body.

Due to all the injuries, and the loss of blood from Edward sucking the venom out I ended up in the hospital. And that is the story of how Alice knew about James and her past being connected." I said to my mom and Phil.

My mother had a look of understanding I her eyes, but what surprised me was that she wasn't mad about the truth of why I was in Phoenix or in the hospital down there.

"What happened to the other vampires that were with James? Victoria and Laurent?" Phil asked. Edward sighed, and said that he would tell them about all of that after they ate lunch.


	21. Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21:

(Edward POV)

When Phil asked about Victoria and Laurent, I had to cringe inside. I knew that hearing the truth was going be eventful. I just hope that both Renee and Phil will still like me after what they hear.

Bella gave me a reassuring smile as she squeezed my hand as we settled back down in the living room after lunch. I felt Jasper send me some calming waves to help ease my anxiety, and I nodded my thanks to him so I could begin.

"Well, I will start with the ill-fated birthday party Alice insisted on having for Bella. While Bella was opening up presents she ended up getting a paper cut that bled a bit. That's when all hell broke loose. Jasper, being an empath and feeling the blood lust from the rest of us, started to try to attack Bella. I over reacted and shoved Bella back a bit too hard, and she ended up getting cut worse from the glass plates. At the smell of more blood, everyone but Carlisle and myself left the room. Carlisle sent me to talk with Jasper, and Carlisle took Bella into his study to stitch her arm up. I felt that us being around her was more hazardous to her health. I took Bella home, and went back home.

I convinced the family that leaving without them saying good-bye was in her best interest. I recalled the doctor's words from Phoenix about Bella's broken leg, that a clean break would heal faster and better. I stayed back to tell her we were leaving. She tried to convince me that she would tell Charlie something so she could move with us. Knowing that you, Phil, and Charlie would panic if she came with us, I got the wrong idea to tell her that I didn't love her or want her. I realized when we came back that it wasn't the best thing to do.

Anyway, I tried to track Victoria, but lost her trail in Texas, only to pick it up in Brazil. I made Alice promise not to look for Bella's future, but was so glad when she ignored my decision." I stopped to allow Jacob to pick up the story.

"I will pick up the story from here, until Alice or Bella pick it back up. As you know, Bella was in a catatonic state, and she ended up coming to see me on the reservation. She had brought two motorcycles that were in desperate need of repair to me, and we made it a daily thing to hang out and refurbished the motorcycles.

Then Bella started to get social with her friends from school. She called me after some guy named Mike asked her to go to the movies with him. Not wanting to go alone, she suggested that a group of friends go. Well, some chick named Jessica bailed on her, her friend Angela got the stomach flu so she couldn't go. Angela's boyfriend stayed back to help take care of her, so that left that Mike guy and myself to go with Bella.

That Mike guy was annoyed that I was still around, but we watched the movie anyway. The movie got to a gory part, and Mike got up to bolt to the bathroom to vomit. I made fun of him, and then tried to ask Bella out. She begged me not to ruin things. She explained that she couldn't let things go to the next step for fear that I would leave. Then Mike came out of the restroom, and said he needed to go home since he wasn't feeling well. I couldn't help myself from getting angry. I offered to put him in the hospital. Bella got me to back off, but noticed that my body was very warm. I left the theater in a hurry.

It was then that I found out that our tribal legends were true. I wasn't allowed to talk to or be friends with Bella after that. It was mostly for her safety. New wolves are unpredictable and easily angered, and I was put under a gag order to not tell our secret. Bella came to the reservation to confront me, and I had to tell her to go away. She was very hurt, but I had no choice but to follow orders.

Bella, ended up going out into the woods even after Charlie asked her not to. She ended up in some meadow, and found herself face to face with a dreadlock sporting leech. He was about to kill her when I along with the pack came into the meadow. We chased the leech, and finally we managed to tear him apart and burn the pieces.

Later that night I snuck over to talk to Bella. I hinted to her that she knew the real reason why I had been distant. I left her with a plea to try to remember the full story I told her at the beach. Apparently, she figured it out, because the next morning she came over to my house. Unfortunately, the alpha, Sam, and three others, Paul, Embry, and Jared, came over as well. Bella went to confront them, which resulted in Paul getting slapped and angry enough to phase into wolf form. The secret was out, and I phased in front of Bella to defend her. Sam ordered Jared and Embry to take Bella to his now wife, Emily's, house. After Paul and I stopped fighting, Sam led us back to Emily's. Bella handled the secret well, just as I told Sam she would, and we took another walk along the beach. She became concerned that hunting and killing vampires was not a possible task. I had informed her that we took out the leech with the dreads easy enough. She said his name was Laurent, and she showed she was relieved he was dead. I told her that his red headed girlfriend was next. She froze at the mention of her. She stuttered out the name Victoria, and I told her we chased her to the Canadian border, but she kept coming back and we didn't know why. She elaborated that she was the reason, and the story attached to it.

I was able to hang out with Bella once more for multiple purposes. One to help her stay out of the catatonic state, and the other to protect her from Victoria. One day we were hunting Victoria, and Bella was on the reservation. I told her that I would take her cliff diving one day, but she decided to go ahead and try it anyway without me. The water was too unsettled for cliff diving, but Bella didn't realize that. She went ahead and jumped off the cliff for the rush of it. Unfortunately, Victoria was also in the water, and spotted Bella. I had noticed Bella had not come up from waves crashing over her, so I dove in to save her. She wasn't breathing, so I did CPR, and got her breathing again.

I had to get her home since Charlie had to help out with his friend's family after his friend, Harry Clearwater, had died of a heart attack. When we got there, we talked a bit, and then I noticed I could smell a vampire close by. Bella noticed Carlisle's car, and made a dash for the house.

Alice made herself known, and I made sure that Bella was safe. Alice reassured me that she wasn't going to hurt her, and I was the one to inform her of the vampire who wanted Bella dead because of them was still around. The phone rang, Edward thought Bella was dead, so Bella and Alice jetted off to Italy to save Edward from the Volturi." Jacob said indicating that he had to let someone else should take over the story.

I said we should skip over what happened in Italy since it wasn't important to the hunt for Victoria, but did mention that Aro said that Bella had to be turned or die. Caius gave us notice that they do not give second chances.

Charlie cleared his throat to indicate he should tell Renee the truth about what happened to him since it does involve Victoria.

"Okay, Renee, as you can tell, I am no longer human. I had a case I was helping with in Settle. I was on my way back to Forks when I saw a woman with red hair on the side of the road. It appeared she was having car troubles, and being an officer, I had to stop to see if I could help. I don't quite know what happened, but I do remember that Victoria woman laughing about how she was going to enjoy her torture of Bella. I took exception to that, but before I knew what hit me, I felt the pain of being bitten, and the sounds of growling and then I passed out.

I woke up for a brief time and found myself here at the Cullen's house. Carlisle was talking to Sam Uley from the reservation. Carlisle explained what was happening to me, and told me he was giving me a shot of morphine to help with the pain. As I drifted into the darkness, I could hear everything. When Bella was mentioned, I panicked. I did feel the fire burning me, but I somehow managed to not scream and thrash around like how the others told you they did. When I woke up, Bella was close by from what the other's said, and began to tell me that I was now a vampire, and I would need to go hunt before I could attempt to see Bella.

After my hunt, Jasper sat by me while they allowed Bella to come see me. Much to everyone's surprise, I had no bloodlust towards Bella. After Bella stopped crying, she asked me what I remembered before I woke up. I described the red headed woman that had car troubles. When I gave a full description of her, all the Cullen's and Bella stiffened. Bella gritted her teeth and demanded the head of Victoria. I was brought up to speed on the story, and vowed that no matter what, I would keep that bitch away from our daughter." Charlie said as he ended his story.

Jasper decided to pick up the story from there. He mentioned the news reports from Seattle, and how it reminded him of his past. Then he began to tell the story. "When I realized how many people disappeared, the murders, and what not, I immediately knew we were dealing with a newborn army. I had asked Edward where all he tracked Victoria, and when he mentioned Texas, I stiffened. I muttered the name Maria, and Edward read my mind. Victoria had met with Maria and got the idea of a newborn army from her.

I filled Charlie in on what was going on, and that we would need to lure the army into a clearing away from town so no innocent person would get harmed. Alice decided to have a graduation party, and while Bella was visiting Jacob on the reservation, a vampire had entered Charlie's house and took things from Bella's room.

Anyway, we found out that Jacob had forced a kiss on Bella, but laughed as she told us she punched him. The downside to that was she sprained her wrist. Bella and Jacob were not on good terms for a while, but when the graduation party was in full swing, he along with two of his friends, Quil and Embry I believe, came to see Bella. Alice had a vision not long after Jacob showed up. We met outside on the balcony to talk about the army and their arrival. We quickly came up with a plan and asked Jacob if the other wolves would agree to join together for the soul purpose of destroying Victoria once and for all.

Sense I had dealt with newborns before, I agreed to train everyone for the battle. Edward was going to go into hiding with Bella in hopes of keeping Victoria from her. We had Jacob carry Bella to the campsite, but not before we had Bella use her scent to draw the newborns into the clearing we chose. She took it a bit further and pricked her finger to get some blood smear on some leaves. Her blood and scent is very irresistible to vampires, and it would insure that the newborns would be single minded in trying to get to her.

When the newborns came charging in, nobody noticed that Victoria had picked up Edward's scent, and knew that Bella would be with him. She found where they were, and had her 'pet' for the lack of a better term, tried to kill Bella. Seth, one of the younger wolves, and Edward had a plan, but when both Victoria and her 'pet' managed to put Edward in a deadly situation, Bella had a plan of her own. She had remembered a story told to her by the Quileute's about a third wife. She found a sharp rock, and cut her arm to allow her blood to distract Victoria. It worked, and Seth was able to kill the boy with Victoria, and Edward managed to kill Victoria. Unfortunately, we knew that with the inconspicuous activity going on, the Volturi would come to check things out. They arrived after the battle, and reminded us that the Volturi don't give second chances when they noticed Bella was still human. We informed them that a date had been set for her transformation. Little did we know that our world would be turned upside down with shock." Jasper finished.

"What did you mean by that?" Phil asked.

Oh, I was not looking forward to telling my mother-in-law about how quickly Bella's pregnancy was.


	22. Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22:

(Bella POV)

I knew that we were going to have to tell my mom about the shock of being pregnant, and how quickly it passed. I decided to make sure my mom had plenty to eat and drink, along with a bathroom break. I told her that I would be telling her and Phil about what Jasper meant about our world being turned upside down.

"Well, Mom, Phil, as you know I decided to get married on August 13th. I wanted to get married before my 19th birthday because Edward was forever frozen at the age of 17. I was already a year older than he was, and I didn't want to be another year older. At first, I was going to be changed on me wedding night, but decided I didn't want to spend my honeymoon writhing in pain, so we were going to wait until after we got home from our honeymoon.

After we left for our honeymoon, Edward surprised me with a trip to a privet island owned by Carlisle and Esme. It is appropriately named Isle Esme. It is located off the coast of Rio. I was both nervous and excited about the night.

Edward was, of course, worried about hurting me or accidently biting me, but I assured him that things would be fine. I don't think I need to go into details, so I will skip over that. In the morning, I noticed I was covered in feathers, then my memories of the night came back. I felt like I was on cloud 9 realizing how much I love Edward. Edward came in and asked how bad I hurt. I had no idea what he was talking about, then he showed me the bruises on my body, the ones I had no idea were even there. He didn't touch me again for days.

Anyway, I managed to get him to agree to fulfill his duties as a husband, and was pleased that things got better. The morning after a particular wonderful night, Edward made me an amazing breakfast. I had gone through so many eggs on the island. Edward makes some amazing omelets, so I figured it was the island messing with my appetite, and devoured the delicious food.

That night, Edward had gone to the mainland to hunt. He left me a note stating that he would be back by the time I woke up. I saw the note, and muttered he was late. I began to make myself some breakfast that included fried chicken. I had gotten half way through a piece of chicken when I felt sick. I ran to the bathroom to throw up. Edward came back and noticed I had been sick. He came into the bathroom to comfort me. I asked him to hand me my bag, and when I looked into it, I froze. Edward asked me what was wrong. I mentally did the math in my head, and then asked him how long it had been since the wedding. When he told me 14, I knew right away what was wrong. I told him that my period was late. Just then Alice called us because my future disappeared. She put Carlisle on the phone and I explained that I knew it was impossible, but I thought I was pregnant.

Edward grabbed the phone, and then rushed to pack our things. Carlisle had recommended we get back as soon as possible. As we were packing, one of the housekeepers showed up again, and she just knew I was pregnant. Edward allowed her to use some sort of gift to see if I would live through the pregnancy. When she said the word 'death', she walked away with a sad expression on her face. I was worried and scared. Edward told me not to worry, and that Carlisle would take the 'thing' out of me. I was angry with him for that comment. As I sat in the car waiting for our luggage to be loaded on the plane, I called Rosalie. I explained what was happening, and told her my desire. As soon as we got back to the house, Rosalie became very protective of me. I couldn't keep anything in me, and I was growing weaker by the day.

Carlisle informed me that the baby was starving me by the minute, and I might not survive giving birth. Jake came by to see how I was doing. I felt like I was going to throw up again, and Esme mentioned trying to get something in me. Alice said she wished she could see what the baby wanted, Jake had a snide remark about wanting to sink teeth into someone. It gave Edward the idea of having me drink blood. So, I told them I would try anything. I was surprised to find I didn't get sick or faint at the sight or smell of it. I took an experimental sip and found I loved it. After finishing the blood, my body recovered. As time went on, I had issues standing. At one point Edward and Jake came in the room. I had just got done talking to Alice and Rose about baby names. Rose hated them, and I then told Edward and Jake the names. I chose E.J for a boy. The reason, Edward Jacob. For the girl's name, I chose Renesmee as a combination of your and Esme's names. Both Edward and Jake like the names, and I felt smug. Rose handed me my cup of blood, and I ended up dropping it. I didn't think twice about bending down to pick it up, that was a bad move. My back and knees ended up breaking, and I went down.

Alice called Carlisle on the phone, and had mentioned that the placenta must have detached. Rose and Edward both realized they had to do a C- Section right away. They injected the morphine to help with the pain. I knew that the baby was dying, so they had no choice but to cut into me. When all was said and done, Edward informed me that we had a daughter by saying 'it's Renesmee'. My heart started to give out, and then Edward pushed as much venom into me. Renesmee was born on September 11, and three days later I woke as a vampire. So, I conceived on my wedding night, and gave birth about a month later. That is what Jasper meant when he said our world had been turned upside down. We had no idea that human females could get pregnant by a male vampire." I finished with a worried look on my face.

"So, you got pregnant on your wedding night, and gave birth to Renesmee a month later? Do I have that correct?" My mom asked.

"Yes, that is correct. Being pregnant with a vampire/human hybrid meant that the growth and development is a lot faster. As you can tell, even today, Renesmee is bigger than she was when you saw her in Seattle." I replied.

"So, when did you wake up from your transformation?" Phil asked

"I woke up the morning of what would have been my 19th birthday. Both Dad and I are still newborns, but we have this 'gift' I guess you could say, of skipping the typical newborn phase." I told him.

"Do you or Charlie have other gifts?" my mom asked?

"I have a shield. Edward can't hear my thoughts, and neither can Aro Volturi. Eleazar says that my shield is also a physical one." I explained to her.

"This is a lot to take in. I know that Marcus said his eyes were red because he hunts humans, but I figured all vampires would have the same color eyes. Your eyes are gold. Is that because of hunting animals?" Phil asked in general.

"Yes. I don't see why we have to take a human life if we can survive off of animal blood. Granted I know it doesn't fully satisfy our thirst, but it's enough to keep us from attacking a human." Carlisle replied.

"Well, I want you all to know that Phil and I will accept you all for who and what you are." My mom assured us.

"I have a question. How does the wolves fit into all of this? I know they protect their tribe, but I always see Jacob here." Phil asked.

Jake stepped up and filled them in with the answer. "Well, you see, when we phase and find our soul mates, we do what is called imprinting. When we look into the person's eyes, we get this feeling that nothing else in the world matters, just that one person. It's not gravity holding us here, it's them. Depending on the age of the person we imprint on determines the course of the relationship status. I imprinted on Renesemee the night she was born. Right now, I don't see her in a romantic way. I am like a protector, big brother, or uncle type. As she gets older, the course of our relationship will change. I won't age as long as I keep phasing to and from my wolf form, so age really isn't a big deal." Jake explained perfectly.

"I see. So, you are more like an over protective big brother until my granddaughter becomes the appropriate age for a romantic relationship. Right?" Renee asked him.

"That is correct. Whatever Renesmee needs from me is what I will be to her." Jake confirmed.

Just then my mom tried to stifle a yawn. "Okay, mom, I think you should get some sleep." I said to her with concern.

"Yeah, I guess I should turn in. Esme, do you have any of the muffins left in case I get hungry during the night?" my mom asked.

"Of course, I do. They will be in a container on the counter for you if you need to get something to eat." Esme replied with a smile.

After that, my mom and Phil went off to bed. I have to say that they are taking this all very well.

The rest of the time my mom and Phil were visiting went by fast. We did go shopping for baby things, and Alice told my mom not to worry about getting them home because she would simply have the items shipped to her house in Florida. One of the many things my mom and Phil finally understood was that with Alice's visions for great investments and the years the Cullen's have been around, they had way more money than they knew what to do with. Like me, she tried to talk Alice down from her spending, but being Alice, she got her way with shopping.

We soon sent them off back to Jacksonville, and we made promises to come see my new brother and sister once they were born.

-time skip-

(Bella POV)

It has been about 5 months since I saw my mom and Phil here in Forks. We all are heading to Jacksonville this weekend to see my new brother and sister. Phil made sure that the weather was going to be overcast all weekend long. I still can't believe my mom named my brother after Carlisle and Jasper. They are going to call him C.J. for short. My sister is somewhat named after Rosalie. Her name is Lilly Rose. When asked why those names for my siblings, my mom said that they were inspired by the acceptance the family gave them when it was discovered we were related to the Volturi.

The visit was amazing. I made promises to keep in touch with them, and that we would come for visits when we could. Mom and Phil understood why we had to move from Forks about 7 months later. Sue was given permission to leave her spot on the council to Seth so she could move with Dad. The reason Dad moved to Maine with us was that there was an opening for police chief in the little town of St. Francis so we were happy for that. Jake, of course, reluctantly left La Push to stay close to Renesemee.

Carlisle was going to be head of the new surgical center they built there so all was good for him. As for the rest of us, well Rose and Emmett had opened a garage that even repaired tractors. Jasper found work at the high school as a history teacher. He said it was about time some of these kids heard the real accounts of the Civil War. Esme opened an interior design firm. Alice had a boutique stating that even the farmers needed to learn how to be trendy. Edward taught piano, and well, I started taking classes online at the University of Maine. Renesmee was starting with an online school and Jake was helping Rose and Emmett at the garage. For now, things are peaceful and going well for all of us. Only time will tell if Renee and Phil want to join us in this crazy life we have.


	23. Chapter 23

EPILOG

C.J. and Lilly had just turned 17, graduated from the University of Florida, and was excited to see Marcus. Mom, Phil, C.J., Lilly, and all of us Cullen's had been talking. Phil was getting sick, Mom, was worried about him, and they wanted to know more about the change. It seems Phil was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer, and didn't want to die like that. Mom, didn't want to live without Phil, and the twins wanted to be with us, so we set up the perfect thing. Marcus got his hands on a small single engine plane, found 4 bodies that were a match to the physical description of mom, Phil, and the twins. He flew the plane towards the Bahamas, and sent out a mayday call. The plane was set on course to crash into the side of a cliff on a non-populated side of the Bahamas. Marcus, of course, jumped out over the ocean, and made it look like he had never been aboard the small craft. After the wreckage was found, mom, Phil, and the twins were declared dead. I attended the 'funeral' for my family and thanked all who came.

After the transformation, we all moved to England for a while. C.J. and Lilly had some trouble adjusting to this new life for the first two months, but soon got a handle on it. Phil and Mom had almost as much success has Charlie and I had adjusting to being a new born.

Mom and Esme decided to go into business together, and Phil decided to teach sports at the local rec center. One interesting day happened about two years after we moved to England. Lilly had met her mate in none other than Alec. C.J.'s mate was Jane. They came across each other while on a hunting trip. Jane and Alec were sent with Felix and Demetri to take care of a vampire who created an immortal child, so as they were heading back, they found C.J. and Lilly. Mom was happy to know that they had found their mates, and was sad to see them go. Alec made a promise to Mom that he would make sure they visited at least once a month.

To say that I had gotten everything I wanted and more is an understatement. Never in a million years think that when I found the love of my life and chose to become a vampire, that I would get to keep my whole family with me. I have truly been given the best of both worlds.

 **A/N Thanks for reading my first story posted on here. I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to leave a review. I accept constructive, but positive criticism for future references. I have Mrs. Meyer to thank for her beloved characters for me to play around with. No copy right infringement or plagiarism was intended.**


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